What's So Great About the Prom Anyway?
by Master Summoner Sheena
Summary: Lloyd Aurion has never been on a date in his life. So when he hears about the prom he expects not to go. But then one of the hottest girls at school asks him. But does she really like him for who he is? Colloyd, Sheelos, Gesea, Kranna, MithosxTabatha
1. Chloe

MSS: Yes, for the first time in my life I'm attempting to write a romance. Go me.

Colette: You'll do fine!

MSS: Hopefully, especially since this idea refused to go away until I started writing it.

Colette: Master Summoner Sheena only owns Chloe.

MSS: But before you start reading, there are a few things you should know.

1. Since this is AU, Anna is still alive, and I decided to make her an actress.

2. Lloyd lives with his parents in Palmacosta. Actually, almost everyone lives in Palmacosta because I feel like it.

3. Lloyd, Colette, Genis, Sheena, Zelos, and Chloe are all seniors at high school.

4. The story starts in March.

5. Cruxis controls everything and is basically the government.

6. Zelos is Lloyd's best friend, and Sheena is Colette's best friend.

MSS: I think that's everything.

Colette: Please read!

Ooooo

April. Nicknamed the 'Month of Love' at the Palmacosta Academy. Why? No reason. Especially for a certain 17-year-old.

Lloyd Aurion had never been on a single date in his entire life. In fact, he hadn't so much as been hugged or kissed. Not counting his parents.

His parents were pretty important. His father, Kratos Aurion, was one of the Four Seraphim of Cruxis, which basically ran the world. His mother, Anna Aurion, was an actress. True, she wasn't famous, but it was something. Taking this in, you'd think everyone would want to be his friend. Actually, most people didn't really want anything to do with him, something Lloyd didn't understand.

But anyways, it all started that day Zelos was talking about the prom. Or ranting was more like it.

"…I'm going with Sheena. Sheena just got her dress yesterday, and it's long, dark purple, strapless, and looks great on her. Colette's going with Genis. She hasn't got her dress yet, but is thinking of pink with…" Zelos continued on, getting more and more excited as he got into more and more detail. At that point Lloyd started tuning Zelos out.

_It's not like I'm going with anyone. In fact, I'll probably not go at all. I'll stay at home and rewatch the movies Mom was in. Yeah, that'll be… fun…_

Lloyd was shaken from his thoughts. Literally.

"Ow! Hey Zelos, let go," whined Lloyd. Zelos stopped shaking Lloyd and pointed.

"Look! See that girl there?" asked Zelos.

"What girl?" asked Lloyd. _Goddess, I hope he doesn't start ranting again._

"I can't believe you, what girl. Obviously her," Zelos rolled his eyes and gestured. When Lloyd still looked blank, Zelos said, "I'm talking about Chloe. You know, green hair, head cheerleader, one of the hottest girls at the school, my hunny…"

"What about her?" asked Lloyd.

"She was going with Neil to the prom. But she broke up with him abruptly this morning. I wonder who she will go with now?" wondered Zelos.

Just then, Chloe started walking towards Lloyd and Zelos. When she reached them, she turned to Lloyd. "You're… Lloyd, right? Lloyd Aurion?"

"Chloe, my hunny, how've you been?" asked Zelos.

"Bug off Zelos. I'm not your hunny anymore. I came to talk to Lloyd, and Lloyd only. So get the heck out of here," snapped Chloe.

Zelos shrugged and gave Lloyd a tell-me-everything-later look, then walked away.

Chloe smiled at Lloyd. "Let's find someplace more private, shall we?"

Ooooo

"Um, are you sure we're allowed here?" asked Lloyd as Chloe shut the door to the girl's locker room.

"It's fine. And don't worry about being late for class, I have two late passes. One for me, one for you." Chloe flashed Lloyd another of her smiles. Lloyd was struggling to get used to the fact a girl was actually smiling at him.

"Lloyd, in life you will make a lot of tough choices," continued Chloe.

"Yeah," agreed Lloyd, "Dad tells me that all the time!"

"Uh-huh," replied Chloe, obviously not caring, "So to make up for some of those hard choices, I'm going to give you an easy one."

"Really? What?" asked Lloyd. Chloe hadn't given Lloyd so much as a second glance before, except the time…

"Either you can go to the prom alone, or… you can go with me," said Chloe, touching Lloyd's arm. He shrugged her off.

"What?" Lloyd was confused. _Hasn't Chloe hated me ever since Zelos and I snuck a spider into her purse as a practical joke on April Fool's Day last year?_

"Come on, I'm sure not too many girls have asked you," said Chloe.

"We don't even know each other," said Lloyd. To him it sounded as though he was trying to make a lame excuse not to go. _Why shouldn't I go with Chloe? If it's true she's no longer going out with Neil… but then why do I have a bad feeling?_

"You mean, you don't know me," Chloe interrupted Lloyd's thoughts, "I've heard about you. You're a decent guy. Decent guys are hard to find these days."

"I don't know. Maybe if we got to know each other better first…" Lloyd trailed off.

"Great idea. How about we go on a few dates first, to get to know each other better? If it doesn't work out, we just won't go together," suggested Chloe.

_I guess I really don't have anything to lose…_ "Okay," said Lloyd, not sure what he was getting himself into.

"Great. Wednesday night, 5 o'clock? At the Palm Tree Café?" asked Chloe.

"Sure," replied Lloyd. Chloe flashed Lloyd her famous smile once more before handing Lloyd a late pass.

"See you later then," said Chloe. She left.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Lloyd asked the empty space around him.

Ooooo

Lloyd arrived at his usual lunch table. Sheena and Zelos were already there. _What should I say to them?_ Lloyd sat across from Zelos.

"What happened?" demanded Zelos instantly.

Sheena glanced at Zelos, "What do you mean?"

Before Zelos could answer, Chloe sat down next to Lloyd and put her arm around him.

"Hi Lloyd," Chloe gave him the smile he was slowly getting used to.

"Uh, Chloe? What are you doing?" asked Zelos.

"Oh, didn't Lloyd tell you?" answered Chloe, "He and I are going to the prom together."

"WHAT!" shouted Sheena and Zelos in unison. Several heads turned towards them.

"Well, uh, it's not exactly official," mumbled Lloyd.

"Yet," finished Chloe, "That reminds me…" She dug through her purse. "Here." She handed Lloyd a ticket to the prom.

"Um," Lloyd started.

"It's okay, you don't have to finish. I know what you were about to say," Chloe smiled again.

"This is a joke, right? Lloyd wouldn't go to the prom with you!" shouted Sheena.

Chloe glared at Sheena. "Actually, he said yes. Getting jealous, are we Sheena?"

"No way! Besides, I'm going with Zelos!" Sheena said angrily.

The impending fight was stopped when Colette and Genis abruptly arrived.

"Chloe? Why is your arm around Lloyd?" asked Colette, looking confused.

Chloe turned to Lloyd. "Haven't you told anyone?" Lloyd shook his head. Chloe sighed. "Lloyd and I are going to the prom together."

"Whoa! Lloyd! I thought you weren't going!" said Genis.

"Obviously he's changed his mind," said Chloe, getting annoyed.

The rest of lunch continued similarly. Chloe and Sheena obviously hated each other, and argued the entire lunch period. Lloyd kept trying to mumble something, only to be interrupted by Chloe. Then Sheena would yell at Chloe to let Lloyd speak, causing the two to start fighting again. Colette tried to keep the peace, and Zelos and Genis struggled not to laugh at it all.

As soon as the bell rang signaling lunch ending Sheena grabbed Zelos' arm. "Come on, let's go," she said, glaring at Chloe once more before dragging Zelos off.

"I don't think we need to hang around here Lloyd," said Chloe before dragging him off in the opposite direction.

About halfway down the hall Lloyd said, "Uh, Chloe, my locker's in the other direction."

Chloe glared at Lloyd and walked off in a huff.

Lloyd glanced at the people looking at him curiously and asked in a plaintiff voice, "What did I do?"

Ooooo

MSS: Please review and tell me how I did. I have a lot of ideas for this story, but I would like as much advice as possible since this is my first romance.


	2. Fish Sticks

MSS: I'm back! Sorry it took so long to update. And for the disclaimer… Chloe!

Chloe: Master Summoner Sheena does not own ToS or fish sticks. But she does own me.

MSS: And for those who are curious, on my profile I'm posting links to everyone's prom dresses, in case any are interested.

Chloe: Mine is the best.

MSS: To you. Anyways, here is Lloyd's first date with Chloe!

Chloe: Please read, but skip the date.

MSS: Don't listen to her! Read the date!

Chloe: Skip it!

MSS: Read it!

Chloe: It's too embarrassing!

MSS: But it's funny!

Chloe: Lloyd, you agree with me, right?

Lloyd: (not paying attention) Um, what?

MSS: Oh yeah, the current pairings are Sheelos, Kranna, Genis/Colette, and Lloyd/Chloe. For now.

Chloe: What's that supposed to mean!

MSS: Well, you never know. They might change.

Chloe: Well, I'm going with Lloyd no matter what!

MSS: Please read.

Ooooo

Chapter 2: Fish Sticks and First Dates Don't Mix

It was finally Wednesday. Lloyd was spending the day avoiding Chloe so she wouldn't fight with his friends again. Glancing at his watch, Lloyd saw he had one minute to get to class.

Forgetting all about Chloe he ran for it. And smashed into Zelos.

"Careful, bud. Don't want to get hurt before the big date now, do you?" joked Zelos.

"Zelos, you know I hate it when you call me bud!" said Lloyd, annoyed for two reasons. One was obviously since Zelos called him bud, and the second was because he knew he would be late now.

"Uh-huh. Just to warn you, Chloe is one of those girls who expect you to get her something every date. So you better not turn up empty handed!" warned Zelos as he walked away.

_What? I have to get her something? What should I get her? I need advice bad. I know! I'll ask Colette!_

Lloyd ran and managed to get into class just as the bell rang. Sitting down, he saw there was a sub.

"My name is Marble, and I'm substituting for Pronyma today. I really don't have any rules, so you can talk, just keep it down, okay?" said the sub.

Everyone cheered. Whether it was because Pronyma was gone or they could talk Lloyd wasn't sure. Either way, he was glad Pronyma was gone too. He got up and moved to the desk next to Colette.

"Oh, hi Lloyd!" said Colette, looking up from the essay she was writing.

"Hi. What're you working on?" asked Lloyd.

"Oh, Professor Raine is having us write an essay about the importance of the Olfe Uprising. It's actually very interesting!" said Colette cheerfully.

"Um, okay," Lloyd's expression was extremely doubtful, "Uh, Colette? Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure! You can ask me anything Lloyd!" chirped Colette.

"Well, you know how I'm going on a date with Chloe? Zelos told me I should get her something, but I have no clue what," explained Lloyd.

"I see," said Colette seriously, which was rare.

"So, say I was going on a date with you. What would you want me to get you?" asked Lloyd.

"A date… with me?" asked Colette almost hopefully.

"Yeah. What would you want?" asked an oblivious Lloyd.

"Well… there's chocolate, jewelry, flowers, fish sticks…" Colette started to list.

"Fish sticks?" Lloyd was confused.

"Yeah, fish sticks! They're really cheap, you can get them almost anywhere, and they're so good tasting! I love them! I wish I had one now…" Colette looked almost mournful. Then she brightened. "But everyone loves them!"

"I see… I keep that in mind. Thanks Colette!" said Lloyd.

"No problem!" replied Colette.

Ooooo

Lloyd was walking home by himself. He had ignored Chloe, who tried to insist he walk her home. He was too nervous to face her just yet. He turned the corner onto his street and froze in shock. In front of his house was a crowd of reporters with cameras. Cautiously he continued forward.

As one, the crowd turned to face him. "It's him! It's Lloyd!" They crowded around him.

"Lloyd, are you proud of your mother?

"Do you believe you will follow in Anna's footsteps?"

"What's your relationship with your parents?"

"Have you ever considered acting?"

"Tell me Lloyd, what's your mother like? The side only a son would see?"

In the middle of the crowd was the world's most confused person. Lloyd, however, was saved from some very personal questions by a very familiar person in purple.

"Get away from my son!" yelled Kratos as he ran out of the house. In the doorway Anna watched, looking angry.

"Dad! What's happening?" asked Lloyd.

"Get in the house Lloyd," ordered Kratos. Lloyd hastily ran inside.

As soon as Kratos shut the door, Lloyd asked, "What was that all about?"

Kratos locked the door and turned to Lloyd. "Please sit down in the living room."

_Oh no. What did I do? Dad only says that when I'm in trouble. Please don't be about the test I failed, please don't be about the test I failed…_

"Lloyd… I have good news," said Anna with a smile.

_Good news? Did I get an A on something?_

"What is it?" asked Lloyd.

"You remember that movie I auditioned for?" asked Anna, still smiling.

"Was it called… 'A Smile Lasts Forever'?" guessed Lloyd.

"Yes. Well… I got the lead! And it's probably going to be this year's most popular movie too!" Anna's voice grew excited.

"So that's why there was a crowd of reporters…" mused Lloyd.

"About the reporters," Kratos cut in, "I've already talked to Mithos. He said he would send some angels to clear them away. They shouldn't bother you again."

Lloyd watched as his parents got up and started to leave. _It's now or never._

"Uh, Mom? Dad? I, uh, also have something to tell you."

Anna and Kratos returned to their seats.

"What is it?" asked Kratos.

"Uh, I, uh, kinda, um, have a, well, a… a date," Lloyd managed to say.

"What?" said Anna, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"Um… yeah. You see, Chloe Sormans asked me out. Um, the date is, uh, tonight. At five." Lloyd nervously waited for his parents' response.

"Oh, Lloyd! That's wonderful!" cheered Anna. "I was beginning to wonder if you were romantically challenged!" Seeing the look on Lloyd's face, Anna quickly said, "Kidding! But, oh honey, that's wonderful!" She hugged Lloyd.

"Where is this date?" asked Kratos.

"Uh… at the Palm Tree Café," answered Lloyd.

"Are you getting her something?" asked Anna.

"Yeah. Colette gave me some ideas," replied Lloyd.

"Kratos, when are the angels getting here? It's already three, and I don't want Lloyd's date interfered with," said Anna worriedly.

"They should be here about now," said Kratos.

A couple of minutes later, five angels arrived and cleared the yard. With a sigh of relief Lloyd headed for the store to get Chloe's gift.

Ooooo

Chloe and her closest friends were at her house helping her get ready.

"So, who's this guy you've replaced Neil with?" asked Chocolat, Chloe's best friend.

"It's Lloyd. Lloyd Aurion," said Chloe, applying eye shadow.

"Who's that?" asked Sophia.

"I know him. He's my neighbor. He's nice, but kind of on the stupid side," explained Chocolat.

"Kind of? That kid is barely passing!" exclaimed Hilda, "Honestly, why are you even bothering?"

"This is why." Chloe tossed a magazine to Chocolat.

"Goddess magazine?" Chocolat looked confused.

"Open it to page 15," ordered Chloe.

Chocolat opened it and gasped. Sophia and Hilda quickly gathered around her.

On page 14 was a picture of Anna. Starting on page 15 was a five page story on Anna, her family, and 'A Smile Lasts Forever'.

"So that's why…" Hilda trailed off.

"With this, everyone will want to go to the prom with him. And with reporters following him, whoever does…" Chloe smiled triumphantly.

"But… how did you find out?" asked Sophia.

"Simple. My Dad's the producer. In this movie, they couldn't decide who to give the lead to. At the last second they switched to Anna Aurion. The press just found out, except obviously the people who wrote the article. They were given the exclusive. I asked Lloyd before even he knew so it wouldn't look suspicious," explained Chloe.

"How come everything always happens to you?" whined Hilda.

"Maybe you just don't have what it takes to succeed," said Chloe.

"That was so mean!" exclaimed Sophia as Hilda looked about to cry.

"Oh. Sorry," said Chloe. She posed. "How do I look?"

Sophia and Hilda glared at her while Chocolat said, "What do you expect? You always look great."

"Thanks. Oh, and Chocolat? I need you to drop me off. Lloyd's driving me home," ordered Chloe.

Ooooo

It was almost five. With Kratos reminding Lloyd to be back by eight and Anna clutching a tissue, Lloyd drove off.

"My little boy's growing up," sniffed Anna tearfully. Kratos hugged her tighter and together they walked back into their house.

Ooooo

Lloyd spotted Chloe at a table near the entrance. He hurried over.

"There you are. I was starting to wonder if you got cold feet," said Chloe.

"Um… hi… I, uh, got you something," Lloyd said awkwardly, handing Chloe his gift.

"A present? For me?" Chloe got all excited and snatched the package from Lloyd. "Oh, Lloydie, you shouldn't have!"

_Lloydie!_

Chloe eagerly tore off the pink paper Lloyd had wrapped the gift in. When she saw what it was though, her face fell. "Fish sticks?"

"Yeah!" agreed Lloyd, not noticing the look on Chloe's face, "Colette told me you'd love them!"

"Oh… that's nice…" said Chloe quietly, putting down the box of fish sticks.

"What are you ordering?" asked Lloyd as he grabbed a menu.

"Um, Lloyd?" said Chloe quietly.

"What's wrong?" asked Lloyd, seeing how Chloe looked.

"I'll be right back," said Chloe hastily, grabbing her purse.

"Let me help you up," volunteered Lloyd. As he pulled out Chloe's chair, her dress got caught and ripped.

"I'm so sorry!" apologized Lloyd.

"Just take me home," said Chloe, struggling to control her temper. "We can finish the date tomorrow."

Lloyd helped Chloe into his car. Neither heard the 'click' from in the bushes.

In the car Lloyd asked, "Where should we go tomorrow?"

"Um… you decide," answered Chloe.

"How about the Palmacosta Pizza Place?" suggested Lloyd.

"I've never been there," admitted Chloe.

"My friends and I go all the time. I'll drive," offered Lloyd.

"Okay then. Thanks." Chloe flashed her famous smile at Lloyd.

Lloyd pulled into Chloe's driveway. She instantly got out of the car and ran for the front door.

"Wait!" called Lloyd. Chloe shut the door. "You… forgot your fish sticks."

Ooooo

In her house, Chloe rushed to the bathroom and pulled her allergy medication from her purse. "Fish sticks… what a stupid gift."

Ooooo

Lloyd parked in front of Colette's house and rang her doorbell. In side was the sound of "I'll get it!" followed by "Whoops!", a crash, and "Oh no! I broke it!" A minute later Colette opened the door.

"Oh, Lloyd! Hi! How did your date with Chloe go?" asked Colette. She saw the look on Lloyd's face. "Come in and tell me what happened."

Lloyd sat down on the couch in Colette's family room. He held the newly-wrapped box of fish sticks.

"Now tell me, what happened?" asked Colette, concerned for her friend.

Lloyd explained his date. When he finished Colette said, "Oh, Lloyd, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, you dork. You don't have to apologize," said Lloyd.

"Oh… yeah. I'm sorry," Colette repeated.

Lloyd sighed. "Here, I want you to have this." He handed Colette the wrapped package of fish sticks.

"This is for me? Really?" asked Colette, looking hopeful.

"Yeah. I want you to have it," said Lloyd, inwardly praying Colette liked them better than Chloe did.

"Thank you so much Lloyd! Whatever it is, I'll always treasure it!" Colette ripped of the paper. "Oh, fish sticks! They're my favorite! How did you know?"

Before Lloyd could tell Colette that she had told him that, Colette ran up to him and hugged him. Letting go she said, "I'll be right back. I need to put these in the freezer."

Lloyd was frozen in shock, this being the first time someone other than his parents hugged him. He started to move towards the door. Colette then came back in.

"Oh, are you leaving so soon? You just got here!" Colette seemed disappointed, though Lloyd didn't notice.

"Yeah… Dad wants me back by eight…" Lloyd mumbled and hurried out.

Colette watched him leave and sighed.

Ooooo

Lloyd parked in front of Zelos' house and ran to the door. Ringing the doorbell, it was answered almost immediately by Seles.

"What do you want- oh, hi Lloyd. Are you here to see Big Brother?" asked Seles. She saw the look of shock on Lloyd's face. "What's wrong?"

Lloyd was still so shocked over Colette that he wasn't able to speak. It was a miracle he even made it to Zelos' house.

"Come in," said Seles. When Lloyd didn't move she dragged him in. "Hey, Zelos! Get down here!"

Zelos ran down. "What?" He saw Lloyd. "Oh, hey Lloyd, what's wrong?"

After Lloyd made it into Zelos' room, he managed to pull himself together. Zelos had already guessed what happened- or at least he thought he did.

"So, bud, what did you to do?" asked Zelos with a perverted smirk. Lloyd once again explained what happened. By the end of his story Zelos was rolling on the ground laughing.

"What's so funny!" demanded Lloyd, getting defensive.

"Don't be insulted. It's just, Chloe's allergic to fish!" Zelos started to laugh again.

"H…how was I supposed to know that?"

Ooooo

That night, Lloyd dreamed he was back with Chloe in the locker room. He shut his eyes. They were close, so close. Breaking off the kiss, he opened his eyes and gazed back into hers.

He was struck with blue, the most beautiful he had ever seen. It was like falling into an ocean. He was swimming in the blueness, never wanting to leave…

Lloyd was woken up by his alarm going off. Groaning, he got ready and went downstairs. As he sat at the kitchen table he noticed Anna and Kratos were staring at him. "What?"

For an answer Kratos placed part of the newspaper in front of him. A color photo of him escorting Chloe out of the Palm Tree Café was under the headline: SON OF ANNA AURION IN LOVE?

But that wasn't what caught Lloyd's eye. It was Chloe. She had green hair… and purple eyes…

Ooooo

MSS: Please review! All reviews will be answered by at least three of the following people: Lloyd, Colette, Chloe, Zelos, Sheena, Genis, Anna, or Kratos. So review!

Chloe: You know you want to.


	3. Who's that New Girl?

MSS: I've returned! And I'm here with an extra long chapter to make up for not updating for so long! Btw, I have a couple extra things I want to add. No one knows about Raine's ruin mode except for Genis. I'm making Mithos and Yggdrasill two different people. Mithos is now Yggdrasill's younger brother. It will all make sense later.

Chloe: Do I have to go?

MSS: On what?

Chloe: The field trip!

MSS: Of course!

Chloe: I don't want to. That's the last place I want to go. I'm not even in Lloyd's group!

MSS: Too bad. (Notices readers) Please read!

Ooooo

Chapter 3: Who's That New Girl?

Later that morning Lloyd walked into school, dreading showing Chloe the picture. _I hope she doesn't mind we were followed. I hope she's not mad. Maybe I should just pretend I don't know anything._

Ooooo

"I'm so getting this framed," said Chloe, looking at a cutout from the newspaper. It was the picture of her and Lloyd. "Whoever it is that took this, I hope they follow us tonight."

"Look who's coming," smiled Hilda. The other girls looked up to see Lloyd walking towards them.

"Better not let him see that," advised Sophia. Chloe quickly hid picture in her purse.

"Um, Chloe?" asked Lloyd, "Um, I'm really, really, sorry."

"Oh? About what?" asked Chloe innocently.

"Um, well, you see…" Lloyd trailed off.

"Just spit it out," suggested Sophia. Chloe elbowed her.

"Well… there's this article about us dating in the newspaper, and I know you didn't want a lot of publicity…" Lloyd trailed off as Sophia snorted and was once again elbowed by Chloe.

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's what I wan-, uh, I mean, how could I blame you for something you have no control over?" said Chloe sweetly.

"So you're not mad at me?" asked Lloyd, surprised.

"Of course not. We have our first class together, right?" Chloe frowned and pulled out a schedule.

"Yeah. History with Professor Sage," replied Lloyd.

"Then how about you walk me to class?" suggested Chloe. Without waiting for Lloyd to answer, she entwined her arm in his and walked off.

"I have to admit, Lloyd's not that bad looking," said Hilda.

"And he's now practically a celebrity," added Sophia.

"Why does Chloe always get everyone first?" wondered Hilda, checking her hair in a small mirror.

"It's not fair," complained Hilda, sulking.

Ooooo

"Class, today you won't need any books so please place either in the desks or on the floor," commanded Raine. She watched silently as everyone did so. This was one of her favorite classes, though it was also her hardest class to control. The biggest problem was Rodyle, who sat next to Genis. Rodyle felt that he understood history a lot better than her. So he constantly felt the need to speak up in class. Like now.

"What are we doing? Are you going to make us do research? I hate research. Can't we ever do anything fun? Can we build time machines, travel back in time, and kill people?" whined Rodyle. Who was promptly hit in the face by an eraser.

"Don't you dare insult history!" yelled Raine.

Rodyle got up from the floor where he had landed, clutching his eye. "Ow! This is child abuse! I'll make my Daddy sue you! You killed me!"

Raine sighed. She had met Rodyle's father Magnius several times at various parent-teacher conferences. _He wouldn't do a thing. Most likely he will ground Rodyle and go back to watching TV. Lazy bum._

Ooooo

"I wonder what Professor Raine has planned?" wondered Lloyd. He was sitting between Zelos and Aisha.

"I'm sure my ultra-cool gorgeous beauty will tell us soon," said Zelos.

"Just don't let her hear you call her that. Remember last time?" reminded Aisha.

Lloyd laughed, "Oh, you mean when the Professor nearly threw him out the window?"

"I get it already!" shuddered Zelos, "Don't remind me!"

"Hey, Lloyd," whispered Kate from behind him. Lloyd turned around and she handed him a note. "It's from Chloe."

Lloyd glanced back at Chloe. She flashed him her famous smile and gestured to him to read the note. Just then, Raine began to speak.

"Today, I have a video to show you on the Balacruf Dynasty. But first, I want to speak to you about something."

Lloyd carefully opened the note, inwardly praying Raine wouldn't catch him. Zelos and Aisha leaned in to read it with him. As Lloyd began to read, Raine snatched the note from him. _Huh? Where'd she come from? Why didn't I notice the Professor standing next to me?_

Raine held up the note, "Lloyd, you know there is no note passing in class." She read the note, smiled a little, then ripped it up and threw it away. "I'm sorry, but you and Chloe will just have to wait until after class to pass each other love notes." The class laughed.

"Settle down. As I was saying, we have been granted the tremendous opportunity to visit the Asgard Ruin." The class erupted into a mix of cheering and excited chattering.

All except Genis.

"Um, sis? You sure that's a good idea?" Genis asked, looking nervous.

"What? I find nothing wrong with going to see one of the greatest ruins in the world!" Raine's eyes gleamed obsessively. The only ones who noticed were Genis and Rodyle though.

"Maybe we can go to Thoda Geyser too?" someone hopefully suggested.

Raine's mood abruptly changed. "No! We will not set a foot anywhere near that… that place!"

The person who'd suggested it gulped, "I… I was just kidding!"

Raine shook her head to clear her thoughts and concentrate on the Asgard Ruin. "This field trip is for all seniors. You will be split into groups of five. I've already typed up your groups, but I will give you the chance to change the group you're in. Which reminds me. I'm sure you've all noticed by now we have someone new in our class."

"Huh?" said Lloyd, looking wildly around the room.

"There," said Aisha, pointing.

Turning around, Lloyd saw a girl with pink hair tied in pigtails. She was the only one who was not still talking excitedly.

"Look at Genis," said Zelos, stifling a laugh.

Lloyd turned around to see Genis staring at the new girl, his mouth hanging open.

"Huh? Why's Genis staring at her like that?" asked Lloyd.

"It's so obvious, bud. He obviously likes her," explained Zelos.

"But… but Genis is dating Colette!" exclaimed Lloyd, not wanting Colette to be hurt.

"Yeah… that could be a problem," said Zelos wisely.

Raine cleared her throat. "Please come up here and introduce yourself.

"…" the girl walked to Raine and faced the class. "My name is Presea."

"Anything else you'd like to add?" asked Raine.

"…" Presea stood there.

"Well… thank you, Presea," said Raine uncertainly.

"…"

"It's okay for you to sit down now," hinted Raine. Presea sat down without saying anything.

"All right, before I start the movie, I'll pass around the sheet with your groups on it. You may switch once, and only once," said Raine, handing the sheet to Sheena.

The sheet was passed to Zelos. He and Lloyd bent over it to see if they were in the same group.

Group 7:

Chaperone: Professor Nova

Lloyd Irving

Colette Brunel

Sheena Fujibayashi

Zelos Wilder

Yutis Sylph

"Yutis? Do you know her?" asked Lloyd.

"Not really… She usually hangs out with her triplet sisters Sephie and Fairess. The only way you can tell them apart is their hair. Man, are they annoying," said Zelos.

"How would you know? You said you didn't know her," said Aisha.

"Oh, well, they are my hunnies. I just don't hang out with them much," answered Zelos.

"I don't even want to know," replied Aisha, turning away disgusted.

Lloyd checked to see which groups Chloe and Genis were in.

Group 16:

Chaperone: Professor Crawly

Mithos Yggdrasill

Chloe Sormans

Genis Sage

Alduin Forest

Presea Combatir

"Hey, look. Genis is with that new girl," said Lloyd.

"Her name is Presea," Aisha reminded Lloyd.

"Too bad she's not in our group. It would have been a great time to get to know her better," said Zelos.

Lloyd had a sudden stroke of brilliance. Leaning over into the row in front of his, he managed to poke Sheena. Sheena turned around and was about to yell at Lloyd when he said, "Zelos just said he's cheating on you."

"What!" demanded Sheena, glaring at Zelos. She grabbed a pen and walked up to him.

"I… I was kidding! Don't hurt me!" cried Zelos, waving his arms in an attempt to fend off Sheena and her pen. I didn't work. Lloyd and Aisha laughed as they watched Sheena draw all over Zelos' face, Zelos emitting an occasional, "Not the face!"

Satisfied, Sheena clicked the pen closed. She had drawn a moustache, thick eyebrows, and little blacks dots all over Zelos' face.

Zelos pulled out a mirror and examined his damaged face. "You… you ruined my beautiful face!" Zelos looked like he was about to cry. He started sniffing.

Sheena instantly melted. "I'm sorry!" She hugged Zelos as a tear trickled down his face. Instantly Zelos was no longer crying and pulled Sheena into a tight hug.

"Ow… Zelos! Let go!" commanded Sheena. Zelos didn't.

"All right, break it up! All of you, what has gotten into you today?" demanded Raine. Sheena looked up guiltily as Zelos hastily let go.

Raine surveyed the guilty looks on all their faces. "Never mind. I don't want to know." She walked back to her desk. "If you're all satisfied with your groups, then I'll put in the movie."

Ooooo

"Genis, you sure you don't mind not being with us?" asked Lloyd. It was lunch and they were sitting in their usual spot.

"Oh, it's fine. Really!" said Genis quickly.

"He just wants to be with that Presea," said Zelos with a smirk.

"N-no!" Genis turned red. He was saved from more questions by Mithos arriving at their table.

"Genis is it okay if I sit with you?" asked Mithos nervously.

"Oh, sure," answered Genis. To the others he said, "Mithos is my lab partner."

"Any friend of Genis is my friend!" Lloyd grinned.

Mithos sat down next to Genis. Then Chloe arrived. And discovered all the seats were taken.

"Lloyd! Why didn't you save me a seat!" demanded Chloe, hands on her hips.

"Um… I forgot?" asked Lloyd.

Chloe glared at a freshman sitting next to Lloyd. "Move."

The freshman looked up. "No."

"Hello? I'm a senior. This is a senior's only table. So move," demanded Chloe.

"Let her be, Chloe. What's your name?" asked Sheena.

"Lyla," said the girl shortly.

Just then, the late bell for lunch rang. "That's the freshman bell. You'd better hurry so you won't be late for class," suggested Chloe sweetly.

"It is?" Lyla looked worried.

"Yeah, it is. You wouldn't want to be late now, would you?" asked Chloe.

Lyla got up and started to run out of the cafeteria. "Thanks!" she called over her shoulder.

Chloe sat down in Lyla's seat.

"Chloe, that was so mean!" said Colette. Chloe ignored her.

Mithos whispered something to Genis. Genis stood up along with Mithos. "Um, Mithos just spotted Presea sitting alone, so we're going to go sit with her," said Genis.

"Oh, that's so nice!" said Colette, "I'll go with you!"

"That's okay, you don't have to…" Genis refused to look at Colette.

"Oh… all right then… if that's what you want…" Colette looked downcast.

"Um, I'll talk to you later, okay?" promised Genis, looking at Colette quickly, and then looking away just as quickly.

"All right!" Colette smiled. Genis and Mithos got up and walked off. Hilda ran up to Chloe.

"Chloe! It's an emergency! You have to come quick!" she shrieked.

"What is it?" asked Chloe.

"It's this guy! He called us… he called us…" Hilda tried to finish her sentence, but couldn't force herself to say what the guy had called them.

"I'll handle this," said Chloe. She turned to Lloyd, "I'll be back later, okay?"

"Okay," replied Lloyd. Chloe and Hilda ran off.

"Well, she'll be gone the rest of lunch," said Zelos knowingly.

Three girls wearing matching gold dresses then walked up to Lloyd. "Are you Lloyd?" the first girl asked. She had green hair.

"We need to talk to you," continued the second, who had blue hair.

"About the field trip," finished the third, which had pink hair.

_Who are they?_ "Um, yeah, I'm Lloyd," he said awkwardly.

"I'm Sephie," said the first.

"I'm Yutis," said the second.

"I'm Fairess," said the third.

"We came…" started Sephie.

"To tell you…" continued Yutis.

"That we won't be going on the field trip," finished Fairess.

"Yes!" shouted Zelos, punching his fist into the air. The Sylph triplets turned as one to him and glared identical glares.

"You…" started Sephie.

"Have annoyed us," continued Yutis.

"And you will be sorry," concluded Fairess.

"Um, why exactly are you telling me this?" asked Lloyd, breaking up the oncoming argument.

The Sylph sisters turned to face Lloyd. "We felt…" started Sephie.

"That you would want to know," continued Yutis.

"So we came," finished Fairess.

"Oh…" said Lloyd, not sure what else to say.

"We're triplets…" started Sephie.

"And we do everything together," continued Yutis.

"And we already we planning…" said Fairess.

"To skip school that day…" said Sephie.

"Because we have tickets…" said Yutis.

"For a concert," finished Fairess.

"Well, then have fun," answered Lloyd.

"By the way…" started Sephie.

"Are you going…" continued Yutis.

"To the prom?" asked Fairess.

"Um… yeah…" said Lloyd, not sure where this was going.

"Would you like…" started Sephie.

"To go with…" continued Yutis.

"The three of us?" asked Fairess.

"All three of you… at the same time?" Lloyd was shocked.

"Yes," said Sephie.

"We do everything together," said Yutis.

"We love to share," finished Fairess.

"Um, look, I'm sorry, but I already going with someone else," Lloyd apologized, secretly glad he didn't have to go with them.

At the same time, the Sylph sisters stuck their noses up in the air, whirled around, and stalked off.

"Told you they were annoying," said Zelos. A fuming Lyla stalked to the table.

"Where did that girl go! The one who told me about the freshman bell!" she demanded.

Sweat dropping, Lloyd pointed in the direction Chloe went in and said, "That way."

Lyla stomped off.

"You're really popular today, Lloyd," said Zelos with a wink.

"Shut up," said Lloyd, going red.

Ooooo

After school, Zelos ran up to Lloyd, his face still covered in pen. "So, what are you getting Chloe this time?" he asked.

"What do you think I should get her?" countered Lloyd.

"How about flowers?" suggested Zelos.

"All right then," said Lloyd.

"I know who would like to help you pick them out," hinted Zelos.

"Who?" asked Lloyd.

"Colette," said Zelos simply. He then started to run away.

Lloyd took off after Zelos, "What do you mean?"

Zelos gave Lloyd a long-suffering look, "Just ask Colette to help you. I'll come along too!"

"Um, all right then. Where's Colette?" asked Lloyd.

"I don't know," answered Zelos.

"What! Then how am I supposed to ask her!" demanded Lloyd.

"Ask Colette what?" came a girl's voice from behind them.

Lloyd and Zelos froze, and then slowly turned around.

"Oh, it's just you Sheena," said Zelos with a sigh of relief.

"Let me guess, you thought I was Chloe?" guessed Sheena.

"Well… yeah. She's always following me," admitted Lloyd.

"So anyways, Lloyd needs to find Colette. Any ideas where she'd be?" asked Zelos, changing the subject.

"Yeah, she usually stays after for ten minutes to help in the garden," answered Sheena.

"Thanks," said Lloyd. The three of them set off for the garden.

"So, what is it you're going to ask Colette about?" asked Sheena.

"I'd like to come help me buy flowers for Chloe," explained Lloyd.

"You need help with buying flowers?" Sheena cocked her head to the side.

"Trust me, he does," said Zelos, "Last time he gave her a box of fish sticks."

Sheena burst into laughter, "Didn't you know she's allergic to fish?"

"Am I the only one in the school who didn't know that?" asked Lloyd, kicking a pebble.

"Probably," said Zelos, laughing with Sheena.

They reached the garden. It wasn't much of one, though it was better than it used to look. The garden used to be a couple of half-dead plants. Then Colette found out about it and started to take care of them. Now there were bushes, flowers, herbs, not a lot, but more than before. They were now incredibly healthy too.

Lloyd knelt down next to Colette. "I didn't know you liked gardening so much."

"Oh, I love it! It's so much fun! You should try, I'm sure you'd like it too!" exclaimed Colette, cheerful as always.

Zelos nudged Lloyd. "Remember?" he whispered.

"I know, I know," whispered Lloyd back.

"What?" asked Colette, looking confused.

"Um, I was wondering, would you like to help me go pick out flowers?" asked Lloyd.

Colette smiled, "Oh, of course Lloyd! I'd love to!"

"Great then. Um, I guess we should go?" asked Lloyd, unsure.

"Okay!" exclaimed Colette. She grabbed Lloyd's hand and started to skip off. Lloyd, not knowing what else to do, skipped off with her.

"They make a cute couple," said Sheena.

"Yeah. It's kind of sad really. What with Lloyd being with Chloe and Colette with Genis," sighed Zelos.

"Let's go," said Sheena. She and Zelos walked off after the happy couple.

Ooooo

"Oh! Lloyd! You should get these!" called Colette from across the Flower Shop. Lloyd ran over. Colette was holding a pretty bouquet of yellow and pink flowers.

"Aren't they pretty?" said Colette. She looked almost shyly up at Lloyd.

"Yeah, they are!" grinned Lloyd. Colette grinned back at him.

"Yo, Lloyd!" said Zelos, walking over to Lloyd and Colette, "You should get Chloe these." He held out a bouquet of red roses. "It would impress Chloe."

"Really?" asked Lloyd. He took the flowers from Zelos as Sheena walked over.

"Ignore that pervert. You should give Chloe this," said Sheena confidently. She held a single dead carnation.

"Um… what should I do?" Lloyd asked Colette. She smiled.

"Well… I like these best," she indicated her bouquet, "But Chloe would probably like those better."

"All right then. I'll get her the roses," said Lloyd. He brought them up to the cashier, who was wearing a nametag with 'Luna' written on it. "I'd like these."

"That would be 50 gald," said Luna pleasantly.

"What! That much!" shrieked Lloyd. _That's most of the money I've saved up!_

"They're guaranteed to impress that certain special someone," hinted Luna with a smile.

"All right, I'll take them," Lloyd sighed, handing over the money.

Luna smirked and said, "Have a nice day!"

Outside the store, Lloyd said, "Why do I feel like I just got gypped?"

Ooooo

"I got him first, la la la la la la…" Chloe sang as she hung up the now framed picture of her and Lloyd, and pinned the article on her bulletin board. On her desk, her cell phone rang. By the ring tone Chloe knew it was Chocolat. She picked it up and walked over to her window. Looking out, she saw into Chocolat's bedroom in the house next door. Chocolat glared at Chloe through the window and gestured for her to answer the phone.

Chloe sighed and opened her phone, "What is it?"

"Did you forget or what? We were going shopping together. Remember? The Whirlwind?" came Chocolat's annoyed voice.

"Oh yeah…" remembered Chloe, "But, I can't."

"Why not?" demanded Chocolat.

"I have to get ready for a date with Lloyd since last night's got cut short," explained Chloe.

"Why didn't you tell me? I'm your best friend!" sulked Chocolat.

"Well… it's because we're going to the Palmacosta Pizza Place," explained Chloe slowly, completely embarrassed.

On the other end Chocolat burst into laughter. After a minute, she calmed herself down and said, "I'll be right over to help you get ready." She hung up.

Chloe sat down on her bed to wait. She had already picked out the perfect outfit. A nice, little black dress she had spent almost 1000 gald on. Along with shoes that cost almost double. _And I'll put my hair up, grab that new purse I got with-_

Chloe thoughts were interrupted as Chocolat came in and sat in her chair at her desk. "So, what are you going to wear?" asked Chocolat excitedly.

"This," said Chloe, getting up and pulling out the dress. Chocolat stared at her. "What?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot, you haven't been there before, have you?" asked Chocolat rolling her eyes.

"No, of course not. What's wrong with my dress?" demanded Chloe, who had really wanted to wear the dress.

"Oh, nothing, just that you dress _casually_ at a place like that," hinted Chocolat.

"Well what am I supposed to wear?" asked Chloe, frustrated. Chocolat went into Chloe's closet. After digging around for five minutes, she pulled out jeans and a t-shirt.

"I didn't even know I owned those," said Chloe, who couldn't remember ever seeing them in her closet before.

"Try these on," ordered Chocolat. Chloe did so. The clothes were way too small.

"Hmm…" Chocolat dug through Chloe's closet until she found a jean skirt and tank top. "Here. Try these next." Chloe did so. "Perfect. Wear that," ordered Chocolat.

"Um, you sure?" asked Chloe.

"Yes. When's Lloyd picking you up?" asked Chocolat.

"Around five," answered Chloe.

"Then that leaves enough time to do a little shopping!" exclaimed Chocolat.

Smiling, the two girls left to go shopping.

Ooooo

Lloyd nervously rearranged the flowers as he rang Chloe's doorbell. Inside, he heard, "No! Dad! It's for me! Don't answer! Don't-"

A tall man with black hair answered the door. "And you are…?" he asked.

Chloe shoved him out of the way. "ComeonLloydlet'sgetgoingbyeDad!" Chloe said hurriedly. She shut the door and dragged Lloyd to his car.

"Um… here, I got these for you," said Lloyd, handing Chloe the roses. She squealed with delight.

"Oh, thank you so much! These are my favorite flowers! How did you know?" she asked.

"Colette said you would like them," explained Lloyd.

Chloe looked suspiciously at Lloyd. "And do you always do things with Colette?"

"Well, we've known each other for practically our whole lives so, yeah," answered Lloyd. Chloe wordlessly got into the car. A confused Lloyd followed her. _What did I say?_

Ooooo

They parked outside the Palmacosta Pizza Place. Walking in, four five-year-old kids ran up to Lloyd yelling, "It's Lloyd!"

"Hi everyone! How have things been going?" Lloyd asked them.

"Great! We're here celebrating winning a game!" said a small girl whose blonde hair was in pigtails.

A man walked over. "Hello Lloyd. What are you doing here?"

"All right, someone tell me what's going on!" yelled Chloe. A hush came over the crowd.

"This is Palmacosta's T-Ball team. You know, softball?" said Lloyd, "I help out once in a while. This is Dorr, the coach."

"And I'm Kilia!" exclaimed the girl with pigtails.

"Oh… well, let's sit down, okay?" said Chloe. She walked to the nearest empty booth and sat down. "You coming Lloyd?"

"I'll talk to you guys later, okay?" said Lloyd. He sat across from Chloe. "What kind of pizza do you want?"

"I prefer plain," answered Chloe, feeling out of place.

"Then I'll order a large plain pizza," decided Lloyd.

"L-large? I can't eat that much!" complained Chloe.

"Don't worry; it's for both of us. I could actually eat a large on my own!" boasted Lloyd.

"All right then. I'll go order," volunteered Lloyd. He got up and walked to the counter. Chloe watched as he ordered, then watched while the guy in the back made the pizza. It was done quickly and Lloyd returned.

"So, are you switching groups?" asked Chloe, delicately taking a bite of the pizza.

"Huh?" asked Lloyd. Unlike Chloe, he was stuffing his face.

"The field trip? Remember?" Chloe reminded Lloyd.

"Oh, that. No," said Lloyd, gulping down soda.

"What! Why not! Don't you want to be in my group!" demanded Chloe dropping her slice of pizza in her anger.

"All my friends are in my group. No offense, but I want to be with them," apologized Lloyd as he grabbed his third slice of pizza.

"But what about me?" whined Chloe, "I thought you liked me!"

"But I do… I just want to be with my friends!" said Lloyd.

"If you really cared about me, you would change to my group," sulked Chloe, turning away from Lloyd and leaning against the seat of the booth.

"It's too late to switch groups. What do you expect me to do?" asked Lloyd.

Chloe turned back to Lloyd. With a small smile she said, "Just join my group. All you have to do is walk away from your friends and join me. At the end of the day, rejoin your group. Professor Raine will never know."

_What can I do? How will I get out of this? I don't want Chloe to hate me. But I don't want my friends to hate me either. And I don't want to get into trouble._ Lloyd looked up at Chloe. She gave him flawless puppy dog eyes. Lloyd's heart melted. "Okay, I'll do it."

"Good!" exclaimed Chloe. By now all the pizza was gone. "Let's pay and-"

A piece of pizza flew through the air and landed on Chloe's chest. Over where Kilia and her friends were sitting came laughter.

"Those little brats…" growled Chloe. Dorr ran over to them.

"I'm so sorry for my daughter's behavior. I'll make sure she doesn't do it again," promised Dorr. He ran back over to the team, yelling.

Lloyd got up. "I'll pay, then drive you home." He hurried over to the counter. Chloe wordlessly peeled the pizza off her shirt and glared at Kilia, who stuck her tongue out. _That little brat… this is all because of that time I babysat her, isn't it…_

Ooooo

MSS: Wow… that was longer than I thought…

Chloe: Good, Lloyd's joining my group.

Zelos: I don't know… that's not the kind of thing Lloyd would do.

Chloe: Oh, shut up. What do you know?

Zelos: Well he is my best friend.

MSS: Anyways, how old do you all think I am? It says it in my profile, but I'm curious. It's mostly because someone thought I was nine, so now I want to know if everyone thinks I'm nine. Just curious!

Colette: Please review!


	4. The Field Trip

MSS: It took me awhile, didn't it?

Chloe: You're so lazy.

MSS: I don't see you doing anything.

Chloe: That's because you delete every chapter I write!

MSS: I don't think the readers want to hear about you becoming famous, everyone liking you, and you ruling the world.

Chloe: What's wrong with that?!

Sheena: Everything.

Chloe: I didn't ask for your opinion!

MSS: I don't own Tales of Symphonia, and… you know what? I'm sick of saying the same thing every chapter.

Sheena: Oh yeah, in this chapter there will be a little bit… well, a lot of Action/Adventure stuff.

MSS: Please read!

Ooooo

It had been a week since the pizza incident, and was the day of the field trip to Asgard. As Lloyd was eating breakfast, Kratos once again passed him the newspaper. Once again, there was a picture of him and Chloe along with an article. It was the exact same thing every day now.

"You know, I'd really like to know who keeps managing to take these pictures," wondered Lloyd. Anna sighed and pointed to a line under the picture which read: 'photographed by Kvar Desian'.

"Kvar? Who's that?" asked Lloyd curiously.

"Kvar is a reporter and photographer who tends to get on everyone's nerves," explained Kratos patiently, "Remember that incident in Cruxis that Lord Yggdrasill tried to hush up?"

"Oh yeah, where the newspapers had a five page article on it?" asked Lloyd.

Kratos nodded. "That article was written by Kvar Desian. He likes to cause as much trouble as possible."

"But how is he able to follow me everywhere? This picture is of Chloe and me in my room. How did he get in?" wondered Lloyd.

Kratos looked sharply at the picture and realized it was taken in Lloyd's room. "I'll think I'll have a talk with this Kvar," he said dangerously.

Anna glanced at the clock. "You'd better hurry up Lloyd, or you'll be late."

Lloyd instantly bolted to his room. Throwing a blanket over his bed, he grabbed a sketch pad and pencil for the ride to Asgard and rushed back downstairs. He was stopped at the door by Kratos.

"Take this with you," stated Kratos, handing Lloyd two new swords.

"Dad! Thanks!" thanked Lloyd. He attached them to his belt. "But why are you giving me them?"

"The roads are dangerous. I don't want anything to happen to you. And it is in the rules that students may bring weapons if they wish on field trips," explained Kratos.

"Why?" asked Lloyd.

"Ever since an incident with a large group of monsters attacking and killing a busload of students, the schools added that rule in hopes it wouldn't happen again. Be on your guard," said Kratos.

Lloyd waved to his parents as he got in his car to drive to school.

Ooooo

"I see you have new swords Lloyd," said Zelos, gesturing to them, "Of course, mine is better." Zelos pulled out his.

Lloyd shrugged. "If that's what you want to think, that's fine." He turned to Colette. "Did you bring a sword too?"

Colette shook her head as she pulled out her chakrams. "Grandma taught me how to use these when I was younger. I'm better with them anyway." To prove her point Colette threw one chakram up in the air and caught it.

"That's so cool! Do it again!" begged Lloyd. Zelos laughed, but Colette threw a chakram again. Only this time she missed catching it and quickly hid it, embarrassed.

Lloyd turned to Sheena. "What did you bring?"

For an answer, Sheena simply pulled out some cards.

"Great! You brought cards! That'll help us to not be bored!" said Lloyd enthusiastically.

Sheena rolled her eyes. "They're not for playing with. They're weapons."

"What?" asked Lloyd, confused.

"I'll show you." Sheena looked for a target and spotted none other than Chloe. Chloe was standing further away, talking to some friends. Sheena carefully snuck up on her before striking her with a card, shouting, "Pyre Seal!"

Chloe fell over as Sheena ran back. Zelos, Colette, Lloyd, and Sheena pretended they had nothing to do with it as a furious Chloe glared at those around her, trying to find out who knocked her over. As she spotted Lloyd, her expression changed to excitement and she ran over to him.

"I need to talk to you alone for a minute," she said as she dragged Lloyd away.

"What is it?" asked Lloyd guardedly.

"Did you forget your promise?" said Chloe sweetly.

Lloyd sighed. _I hoped she'd forget._

"Well… there's nothing I can do until we get there. I'll join you after we get off the bus, okay?" promised Lloyd. Chloe glanced over at the buses as she changed the subject.

"I hope we're on the same bus," she said worriedly.

"Um… yeah…" whispered Lloyd.

Ooooo

Lloyd and Chloe were NOT on the same bus. Lloyd and Sheena controlled themselves, however Zelos burst into laughter as Chloe practically threw a temper tantrum. Finally she satisfied herself with throwing Lloyd a longing look, outstretching her arms.

"Could she make it any more obvious you two are going out?" Sheena rolled her eyes.

Lloyd, Colette, Sheena, and Zelos got on the bus and sat towards the middle. Lloyd and Colette shared a seat. Behind them sat Sheena. Across from her was Zelos. All the seating space around them was instantly taken up by a group of girls who practically flung themselves at Zelos. Sheena once again rolled her eyes, attempting to act like she could care less, but failing miserably. Seeing that, Zelos moved beside her as he began to retell the same exact story he always told to his fangirls. What had started out as a 'How I Was Almost Hit by a Car' story had become a huge adventure tale. Lloyd had heard it many times, and no two retellings were alike. It was almost as though Zelos spent all his free time adding on to it.

Colette gazed out the window, smiling contentedly. Lloyd pulled out his sketch pad and cast about for what to draw. His eyes lighted on Zelos, who was spreading his arms wide to describe-

"…He was this big, and was chasing me with a knife. He then threw it, which I barely dodged in time-" he was cut off as one of the girls shrieked and grabbed his arm.

"You weren't hurt, were you Zelos?" she shrieked, clutching his arm tightly.

Zelos pried her hands off as he said, "Now, now, settle down my Hunnies. Of course I wasn't hurt. I am, after all, the Great Zelos Wilder!"

Lloyd barely contained his laughter as he found his inspiration. Colette glanced curiously at his drawing. Pretty soon both of them were quietly laughing.

"… The dog chased me down this narrow alley. I knew my only chance was of jumping the fence. I leapt up, snagged the tree branch, and nimbly landed in someone's backyard. Just as I thought I was safe, who should come out but… Pronyma!" The girls shrieked and looked horrified. Sheena leaned over the seat to see what Lloyd and Colette were laughing at.

Finally Zelos could no longer stand it. "What's so funny?" He leaned over Lloyd and Colette's seat.

What had started out as a simple picture of Zelos had turned into a huge thing. Lloyd had decided to experiment, by making a weird expression, giving Zelos a bunny tail, frog's legs, fins for ears…

"H-hey! You're ruining my beautiful face!" cried Zelos. Lloyd turned the page and began another drawing. "You're going to rip that out, right?" Lloyd didn't answer Zelos. "Right, bud?" Still no answer. "Um, Lloyd?"

Lloyd finally felt sorry enough for Zelos to tear out the page, crumple it into a ball, and throw it. Unfortunately, someone stood up, so instead it hit them.

"Hey who threw this at me?" demanded Efreet. He glared at Zelos, who quickly pointed at Lloyd.

Next thing everyone knew, the whole bus was throwing paper balls at each other with a very annoyed Raine trying to get them to stop.

Ooooo

Taking his first look at Asgard, Lloyd was shocked. He had expected old ruins, a couple tourists, maybe a small hotel, and tons of archaeologists. In actuality, it was very commercial. You could barely see the ruins for all the souvenir stands.

Lloyd saw Chloe motioning for him to come over when Professor Raine walked up to him and his friends.

Raine made sure she had their attention and, with Chloe eavesdropping, explained, "I'm sorry, but there's been a change in chaperones. Professor Nova was sick and couldn't make it, so I will be your chaperone."

Lloyd could practically hear Chloe's inner scream of rage as he shrugged at her and turning, walked off with his group. _Though I do feel kind of guilty… I hope Chloe doesn't mind too much, or feel really bad…_

Colette turned to him. "I'm so excited!" she whispered, "Now the Professor can explain everything!"

Ooooo

They entered a cave. Outside, a sign marked it as 'Shrine of the Rite'.

"This is the cave where the maidens who were to perform the ritual stayed. The night before the ritual they would come here to spend a day praying and preparing themselves," stated Raine. Lloyd noticed a wild gleam slowly growing in her eyes. _Huh? What's with that?_

Ooooo

The group approached a huge stone slab. The second it came into Raine's view, she practically flung herself at it. Lloyd wandered around, only half listening to her rant.

"… What perfect form! This delicate curve," Raine ran her hand over the side, "Is said to express the Summon Spirit of Wind through the Sky. In addition…"

Colette was reading through a guidebook. Looking up, she said, "Um, guys? I don't get this…"

"What is it?" asked Lloyd, coming over, "Maybe I can figure it out!"

Zelos shoved Lloyd out of the way, "I think this should be left to an expert."

"Oh, good idea," said Sheena, "I'll go get Raine."

"I wasn't talking about her," whined Zelos.

Lloyd looked over at Raine, who was still obsessing over the ruin. He walked up to her and poked her. "Uh, Professor?"

"…When the mana infused in the stone evaporates, it emits a unique aroma. This is what is commonly known as the Filament Effect…"

Lloyd shrugged and walked back over to the others. "What is it you needed to know?" he asked Colette.

"This book keeps mentioning the Summon Spirit of Wind. But Professor Raine doesn't really talk about the Summon Spirits. And it also calls the Summon Spirit of Wind 'Sylph'." Colette looked confused.

"Well… why don't we ask the Sylph sisters? They might know something," suggested Lloyd.

"No offense, but we don't even know where they are," reminded Sheena.

"Oh! I do!" exclaimed Colette.

"What? How do you know?" asked Zelos.

"I heard them talking to Gnome this morning. They said the concert was in Luin," explained Colette.

"Luin? That's not too far from here! We can make it!" said Lloyd.

"I think you're forgetting something," interjected Sheena. She pointed at Raine.

"During the final era of the Balacruf Dynasty, this ruin was…"

"Besides, how are we going to get there?" asked Sheena.

"Oh, right… never mind… though I really wanted to know…" Colette looked downcast. Lloyd looked at her, and couldn't help it. _If we can get to Luin, Colette will be happy. I've gotta find a way…_

"Wait! That's it!" shouted Lloyd, "There was a Dragon Tours guy outside! We can ride a dragon to Luin!"

Colette instantly looked hopeful. "We can find out more about the Summon Spirit of Wind!"

Zelos smiled. "Well, it is for my cute Colette. Okay, I'll come too."

Everyone turned to Sheena, who sweat dropped. "But… what about Raine?"

"I wouldn't worry. The way she's acting, I don't think she'll notice if we leave for an hour," reassured Zelos.

"Still… just remember, this wasn't my idea," warned Sheena.

"Okay! Let's go!" shouted Lloyd. The four friends walked down the staircase. As they passed by a sign with pamphlets advertising nearby tourist attractions, Sheena snatched a map.

Lloyd ran up to the Dragon Tours guy. "Hey mister! We want to ride the dragons!"

The guy smiled. "That will be 2000 gald a person."

Everyone froze and said simultaneously, "WHAT?!"

"Well? Are you going to ride them?" asked the guy.

Zelos stepped forward, "Excuse me, I want to talk to you privately for a moment."

Zelos pulled the guy away and Lloyd turned to Sheena. "What's he doing?"

"Trying to get us a ride for free. He pulls this all the time," answered Sheena.

Lloyd watched as Zelos had what looked like a heated argument with the guy. Zelos pointed to him a couple times, and the guy jumped in shock. After another few minutes, the guy came running over.

"I'm so sorry!" he cried, "I had no idea! And I only have one dragon left! Please forgive me!"

"Um… okay… you're forgiven…" Lloyd was freaked out by the man's sudden change in mood.

"I had no idea you were Lloyd Aurion!" The man was panicking.

"It's okay… um, how much?" asked Lloyd.

The man led forward a green and gold dragon. "Free! Free! You don't need to pay anything! And I'm sorry I don't have any first class dragons left!"

"It's okay, don't worry about it," said Lloyd. The others climbed on the dragon. Lloyd noticed the man staring at him. "Um, what is it?"

"Can I please have your autograph?" the man begged. He held out a pad and pencil. Lloyd signed the paper and hopped on the dragon. They flew off.

Ooooo

The dragon was flying lower and lower. "Lloyd? I think we should land. It looks like the dragon is exhausted," suggested Sheena.

"Okay," agreed Lloyd. Spotting a small, circular church, they landed outside. Sheena led the dragon over to a small pond as Lloyd and Colette settled on a bench. Zelos, having spotted a young priest, was attempting to hit on her, without much success. Sheena walked over to Lloyd and Colette and joined them on the bench.

"How's the dragon?" asked Lloyd, concerned.

"I don't think she'll be able to fly very far. We'll have to ride her on the ground," explained Sheena.

"She? You mean she's a girl dragon?" asked Lloyd.

Colette and Sheena raised their eyebrows at him. "You mean you didn't know?" said Colette. Lloyd looked away, embarrassed.

"Anyways, she's fine, just completely exhausted. But if we ride her on the ground, it shouldn't take too much longer," finished Sheena.

"Hey, Lloyd, what time is it?" asked Zelos.

Lloyd checked his watch. "About 3."

"Then shouldn't we get going? We haven't gotten very far from Asgard yet," suggested Sheena.

"All right, let's go," decided Lloyd.

Ooooo

"What's that ahead?" asked Colette. On the path ahead of them was a small group of people. A girl wearing a black dress and cape and carrying a staff stopped. After a couple seconds she finished casting a spell, and Lloyd and the others flung themselves off the dragon, barely missing getting hit with a couple fireballs.

"Why are they attacking us?" demanded Lloyd, pulling himself off the ground.

Zelos leapt to his feet and jumped in front of Colette and Sheena, drawing his sword. "They're robbers!"

"Lloyd," Colette looked urgently at him, "please, can we try not to kill them?"

"I'll try," said Lloyd. He looked at the group. Also in it were two archers and a man in armor. "Please allow us through."

Lloyd suddenly found himself on the ground. Some rocks had shot out underneath him, knocking him over. Colette instantly ran over and helped him up.

"You've wasted your chance," Zelos warned the robbers.

"It seems we have no choice. Let's go!" shouted Sheena. She whipped out her cards and dashed forward towards the robbers. Right behind her was Zelos. Instantly the man in armor dashed forward, pulling out his sword. The woman readied her staff and the archers drew their bows.

"Pyre Seal!" shouted Sheena, knocking over an archer. Zelos parried a blow from the swordsman as Lloyd and Colette leapt into action.

"You take the witch, I'll handle the archer," Lloyd called to Colette.

"Okay!" she answered, throwing a chakram at the witch, stopping her spell. The witch angrily struck at Colette with her staff, but Colette dodged.

Lloyd rushed up to the archer, who let loose an arrow at him. Lloyd deflected it with his sword, and kept coming. The archer backed away, attempting to put some distance between them, but Lloyd was too quick and knocked his bow out of his hands. The archer swore as he found himself defenseless.

Once again, Lloyd found himself on the ground, his feet having been kicked out from underneath him. _Good thing Dad isn't here or I'd be in trouble for letting my guard down._ Lloyd felt a sharp pain in his side as he was kicked again.

A shadow fell above him. Looking up, he saw Colette practically jump on top of the archer. She struck at him with her chakrams and he fell unconscious. As she helped Lloyd up, she said, "Lloyd! Are you okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," he reassured her. Zelos abruptly jumped in front of them, green light surrounding him as he deflected three fireballs meant for Lloyd and Colette.

"Guys! Pay attention!" he called before charging at the witch with Sheena.

Lloyd and Colette ran forward, past the unconscious swordsman.

"Pyre Seal!" shouted Sheena again. The witch was knocked unconscious.

Zelos glanced at the others. "Everyone all right?"

"I am… but I'm not sure about Lloyd…" Colette faltered, looking anxiously at Lloyd, who was clutching his side.

Zelos came over to Lloyd. "Hold still for a second… I'm still not great at this healer stuff…" Zelos checked Lloyd's side. "It looks like you were bruised badly. Here." Zelos got into a casting position. "First Aid!"

Lloyd glanced down at his side, now completely healed. "Wow, not bad Zelos."

Zelos grinned. "Thanks bud!"

Lloyd rolled his eyes. The four friends climbed back on the dragon.

Ooooo

"This looks like a good spot to rest for awhile," suggested Zelos. They climbed off the dragon, and Colette led it over to a lake.

The area was peaceful, the water clear, it looked like a place where families went to hold picnics, and young children splashed through the shallows, laughing and giggling as they got soaked.

Lloyd noticed Sheena was holding a map. He walked over and asked her, "How close are we?"

She looked up. "Right now, it looks like we're at Lake Umacy. So we're about halfway there."

"It's already 3:42… I hope we can make it," Lloyd said worriedly.

"We've already gotten this far. There's no turning back now," replied Sheena.

"Yeah," agreed Lloyd.

Ooooo

The sound of loud music reached their ears, causing everyone to look up. Just ahead was Luin, finally.

They hopped off the dragon. Lloyd tied the reins to a tree as the dragon gratefully lay down. "Now all we have to do is find the Sylph sisters," he said. The others nodded.

It wasn't long before they spotted the Sylph sisters, partying with a bunch of other girls, whose hair colors were every color in the rainbow. Lloyd was about to poke Sephie to get her attention when she spun around and spotted him. She instantly grabbed her sisters.

"Have you…" began Sephie. Lloyd inwardly groaned.

"Come because you…" continued Yutis.

"Changed your mind?" finished Fairess.

"Huh? About what?" asked Lloyd.

"Going to…"

"The prom…"

"With us."

"Um, look, I'm sorry, I can't," Lloyd apologized. The Sylph sisters as one turned away. "Wait! We need to know what you know about the Summon Spirit of Wind, Sylph!"

The Sylph sisters turned back to Lloyd. "Sylph?" they said simultaneously.

"Yeah. Do you know anything about it?" asked Lloyd.

For once, the sisters didn't mirror each other exactly. Yutis and Fairess turned to Sephie questioningly. After a moment of looking thoughtfully at Lloyd, Sephie said, "No."

Lloyd glanced over at Colette, who looked crushed. Sephie, also noticing, quickly added, "But I can ask my grandmother. She might know something."

"Thanks!" exclaimed Colette. The Sylph sisters nodded, then walked away, calling a brief goodbye over their shoulders.

"Wow… that's the first time a Sylph sister hasn't acted like a copy of the others…" said Zelos in amazement.

Sheena grabbed Lloyd's arm and checked his watch. "Guys! It's 4:30!"

"What?!" Lloyd looked at his watch in shock. It was 4:30. "We'd better get going!"

Ooooo

Everyone was moping. It was getting darker, everyone was hungry, and they were nowhere nearer to Asgard.

Colette, trying to cheer everybody up, said, "At least it couldn't get any worse."

"Yeah," answered Zelos, "Until we get back to Asgard and Raine flips out at us."

"I did try to warn everyone," Sheena reminded them.

"Still, Colette's right. It couldn't get any-" Lloyd cut himself off as it started to rain.

"Lloyd, you just had to go and jinx us," whined Zelos. Sheena snatched the reins from Lloyd and turned the dragon towards the woods. "What are you doing? That'll only take longer!"

"Do you want to get soaked?" asked Sheena, not really expecting an answer.

Ooooo

As they entered the woods, everyone climbed off the dragon. Colette glanced around and shivered. "It's gotten really cold."

"Yeah," agreed Lloyd. Colette sighed and looked away. Zelos came up from behind Lloyd and whispered, "This is the part where you put your arm over her shoulders."

"Huh?" Lloyd looked confused, but did what Zelos suggested. Colette smiled happily at him. Suddenly, Lloyd found himself incredibly happy, but he wasn't sure why. He had never felt so… it was really confusing, like he was happy, and just had to have something… but he wasn't sure what, and wasn't even sure what he was feeling… all he knew was he had never been happier. He smiled back at Colette, and the feeling swelled.

As the two oblivious teens were off in their own little world, Zelos and Sheena were keeping a careful eye on the woods around them. Well, actually, Sheena was keeping an eye out and Zelos was trying to get her to pay attention to him.

"Zelos, please, someone has to keep watch." Sheena hissed.

Zelos gave her his puppy dog eyes. Suddenly, a knowing look came on his face and he said, "I know why you're in such a bad mood. You're PMSing, aren't you?"

"W-what?!" Sheena froze, then glared at Zelos. "Don't say stuff like that!"

Zelos smirked, knowing he had her attention. "Yes you are," he answered in a sing-song voice.

"Zelos…" Sheena said warningly.

Zelos put his arm on Sheena's shoulder. "Kiss me."

Sheena shoved Zelos away. "What, are you crazy?! This is the worst-"

An arrow thudded into a tree, passing between Sheena and Zelos's faces. The four friends were instantly alert. And just in time for the same group of bandits as before to come forward into the upcoming clearing.

Zelos laughed. "How stupid can you get? You just gave yourselves away to us!"

"Zelos… this isn't something to laugh about." Sheena pulled out her cards.

"You guys…" the witch said.

"Please, why do we have to fight? We just need to get to Asgard! Please, let us pass!" cried Colette, hoping they wouldn't have to fight.

"You wish. After you robbed us? We won't let you get away alive," threatened the swordsman.

"What do you mean? We didn't take anything!" declared Lloyd. Colette nodded emphatically in agreement.

"Don't make me laugh. When we woke up, all our gald and supplies were gone. Now hand it over!" demanded the witch.

"Please! You have to believe us! We didn't take anything!" begged Colette, trying to get them to believe her.

"You-" the witch began, but was cut off by lightening followed by a huge clap of thunder.

"It's dangerous out here. We need to get back to Asgard," said Lloyd. He looked dead-on at the group. "Let us through."

The witch crossed her arms. "And if I don't?"

"Then we won't be responsible for what happens to you," Lloyd said resolutely.

The witch readied her staff. "Bring it on."

The following battle was chaotic, made even more so by the constant flashes of lightening and booms of thunder. A couple times Lloyd dived in just in time to block a blow meant for Colette. Once she rescued him from a surprise attack from behind. Lloyd remembered seeing Zelos heal someone at some time, but wasn't sure who since he was occupied by the swordsman. All eight of them were fighting a desperate battle. Lloyd knocked the helmet off the swordsman and watched it go flying towards a tree.

A bolt of lightening, aiming for the metal helmet, hit the tree. It was instantly ablaze.

Everyone froze in what they were doing and just watch the tree burn in numb shock. Then they all regained their senses. The witch, archers, and swordsman then fled, probably trying to get as far away from the fire as possible.

"Guys! We have to get out of here!" shouted Zelos. Everyone started to run when Colette shouted, "Wait! We forgot the dragon!"

"There's no time Colette!" shouted Lloyd. He grabbed her hand. She refused to budge. "Come on!"

"Lloyd… please. I have to save it!" Colette's hand slipped from his grip and she vanished into the smoke.

"Colette! No!" Lloyd ran off after her into the smoke. It swirled around him, preventing him from spotting Colette. Lloyd's heart was beating fast and, for one of the few times in his life, Lloyd was truly afraid. _I can't lose her!_ He flung a tree branch out of his way. It snapped and landed on the ground, setting the area behind him on fire. "Colette!" Lloyd screamed, barely able to hear himself. _She has to be safe! I won't forgive myself if she's hurt!_

Ahead, Lloyd saw a dark shape. Rushing over, it was Colette, kneeling next to the dragon.

"Calm down. It's okay, I'm here to help you. I'm going to lead you out of the fire," promised Colette. She coughed.

"Colette! You have to get out of here!" Lloyd pulled her to her feet. Holding her hand he started to drag her away from the clearing.

Colette called back to the dragon, "Please! Follow us!" The dragon started to hobble after them.

Making it out of the smoke, the dragon in tow, Colette smiled at Lloyd. "We did it," she said breathlessly.

"Colette!" Lloyd shouted as she went limp into his arms. Zelos and Sheena rushed over. "Guys! We have to get her to Raine!"

Lloyd had little memory of walking to Asgard. It was all a blur, except for Colette. Time seemed to drag on for an eternity, and every passing second it felt to Lloyd as though Colette was running out of time. She was very pale already. _Please, Goddess, please, don't let her die, she can't be dead, oh please…_

Ooooo

Lloyd came back to reality and realized they were in Asgard, outside the biggest inn. Inside the lights were on, and it looked like Raine was there waiting for them.

Zelos opened the door and the group staggered in. Instantly Raine was in their faces.

"Where have you been?! Do you realize everyone has been out looking for you?! I can't believe-"

"Professor, please, help Colette!" begged Lloyd. Raine appeared to not hear him as she continued her rant.

"Raine, Colette's hurt!" shouted Sheena. Raine still continued.

"It's no use to try to talk to her like this," sighed Zelos.

Raine paused. "Don't talk while I'm yelling at you!"

Colette stirred. She coughed and said, "Professor, please. The forest is on fire. Please… you must put it out…"

Raine noticed Colette for the first time. "Oh my… what happened?"

"There's no time to explain… the forest… lightening struck a tree… please…" Colette gasped. Lloyd carried her over to a couch and laid her down. Kneeling, he held her hand tightly. Colette smiled and said "Lloyd… thank you."

Raine quickly examined Colette. "She should be fine. I'll see to her after I alert the town to the fire." Raine left.

Standing away from Colette and Lloyd so as not to disturb them, Zelos and Sheena watched Raine leave. "You know," stated Zelos, "Our teacher's kinda bipolar."

Sheena quietly laughed and said, "Just don't let her hear you say that. Remember the incident where you were almost thrown out the window?"

Zelos whimpered. "Why does everyone have to keep reminding me of that?"

Ooooo

Lloyd was lying in bed, awake. He and Zelos were in one room while Raine, Colette, and Sheena were in another. Raine had told him Colette would be alright… but… for some reason, he still couldn't sleep.

A snore next to him told him Zelos was waaaaaaaay asleep. He heard some mumbling, but was still to busy thinking about Colette to pay attention. _If only I could see her, see that she was all right. _Then an idea hit Lloyd. _Why not? It's not like I could get into any more trouble with the Professor if she catches me._ His decision made, Lloyd climbed out of bed and left for the girls' room.

Ooooo

MSS: Cliffhanger! And sorry once again for taking so long.

Raine: Please review.


	5. Return to Palmacoasta

MSS: Took me long enough, huh?

Chloe: (finishes reading) How dare you!

MSS: What?

Chloe: I'm not in it!

MSS: So?

Chloe: I should be in every chapter!

MSS: Says who?

Chloe: Says me!

Colette: (walks in) Happy birthday Master Summoner Sheena!

MSS: Thanks!

Colette: MSS doesn't own anything, except Chloe.

Chloe: How dare you call me a thing!

Colette: At the end of the chapter, MSS has a couple of… what should we call them?

MSS: Um… announcements?

Colette: Okay! MSS has some announcements. So please read them afterwards!

MSS: Pretty please?

Colette: I hope you like the chapter! (Colette and MSS leave)

Chloe: Hey! Everyone, stop ignoring me!

Ooooo

Chapter 5: Return to Palmacoasta

Lloyd crept quietly down the hall to the girls' room. He grabbed the doorknob and carefully slid the door open. Peeking in, he saw Colette was in the bed closest to the door. Next to her was another bed, but empty. Up on a balcony in the room were to more beds, occupied by Raine and Sheena.

Lloyd tiptoed to Colette's bed. She was sleeping peacefully, her chest slowly rising up and down.

"Good night," Lloyd whispered. He turned to go when he heard Colette say, "Lloyd?"

Quickly turning back, Lloyd said, "I'm sorry I woke you up. I was… I guess I was worried."

Colette smiled, "Thanks Lloyd… but you don't have to worry. See? I'm fine. So please, don't worry about me."

"But Colette… you could have died!" pressed Lloyd.

"Thank you so much for worrying. It makes me so happy that you care! But… I'm fine… so please…."

"Colette-"

There was movement up on the balcony. Looking up fearfully, the worst that could happen happened. Raine woke up.

Lloyd hastily scrambled under Colette's bed and peeped out from underneath. He saw Raine's feet move towards Colette's bed. They paused next to it.

"Are you still up?" asked Raine.

"Yeah… I couldn't sleep," said Colette with a giggle.

"Make sure to get some rest," ordered Raine.

"I promise I will," answered Colette. Raine turned and moved towards the door. "Where are you going?"

"Bathroom," said Raine shortly. She left the room.

Lloyd climbed out from under the bed. Colette looked at him worriedly. "You'd better get back to your room before she comes back."

"Yeah… good night, Colette," whispered Lloyd.

"Good night…."

Lloyd silently shut the door behind him and walked quietly down the hall…

…And right into Raine.

"Lloyd," said Raine in a dangerous voice, "What are you doing in the hall?"

Lloyd knew he was screwed.

Ooooo

Even though it was still early, the sun was already high above Palmacoasta. The weather was nice, and most people outside were enjoying the nice day.

All except for a certain red-head.

Kratos checked the building to make sure it was right, then entered. He strode down the hall looking for room 46. He knocked on the door.

Ooooo

"Now what?" grumbled a blonde man in a blue suit. He hastily stuffed the photos on his desk into a drawer and pulled a bunch of random documents to make sure it looked like he was doing something. "Enter," he said shortly.

A man with red hair entered and pulled up a chair. Sitting down, he said, "My name is Kratos Aurion. I trust you know why I'm here?"

The blonde man feigned a look of surprise and answered, "No, I don't. Why?"

"This." Kratos dropped the cut out picture of Chloe and Lloyd in Lloyd's room.

"And just what does this have to do with me?" asked the blonde man, hiding the nervousness in his voice.

"I'm here to see Kvar Desian. I was told this is his office," Kratos informed the blonde man.

"Again?!" The blonde man exclaimed exasperated. "I keep telling that secretary to fix that! I'm sorry; his office is across the hall. Don't worry, it happens all the time."

"Oh. Sorry for interrupting you." Kratos left the room.

The blonde man sighed in relief before opening his desk drawer again. He pulled out the pictures, put them in his briefcase, and pulled out a rope. He tied it to his open window and quickly climbed out. He ran to his car and threw his briefcase into the back. Pulling out of the parking lot he said to himself, "Kvar Desian escapes again!"

Ooooo

"Come in."

Kratos stepped into the office and sat down. In front of him was a man with green hair and an eye patch typing on his laptop. "What is it?" asked the man.

"Kvar Desian, I'm here to-"

"Sorry, wrong office," said the man without looking up.

"Excuse me?" asked Kratos, by now getting irritated.

The man sighed and closed his laptop. He folded his hands on his desk and looked up at Kratos. "He sent you here, didn't he? He always pulls this stunt. Every time someone comes looking for Kvar he sends them to my office and escapes. If you hurry you might catch him."

"Thank you for your help," said Kratos, getting up.

He entered Kvar's office to see he was gone. Noticing a rope hanging from the window, Kratos crossed the room. Peering out the window, Kratos saw a red sports car pull out of the parking lot. Squinting, he made out the license plate.

"puppyluv111. That's not too hard to remember," Kratos mused. Exiting the office, he said, "I will catch you, Kvar Desian."

Ooooo

Raine pulled her minivan into the House of Guidance's parking lot. "Bathroom break," she said shortly and everyone piled out.

"Lloyd, would you like to take a walk with me?" Colette asked, "We can look at the garden while we're waiting for everyone."

"Sure," Lloyd answered. He and Colette began to walk down a path.

"It was really nice of Mr. Linar to drive Raine's car up to Asgard last night," remarked Colette.

"Yeah," agreed Lloyd.

"I heard yelling last night. Raine didn't catch you, did she?" asked Colette. She saw the sheepish look on Lloyd's face and gasped. "Are you okay?"

Lloyd rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Don't worry, I'm fine. I reminded her that because of us the forest was saved."

"And?" questioned Colette, looking anxious.

"And then she hit me and told me to go to bed."

Colette couldn't help but laugh at the look on Lloyd's face.

"Hey guys? Are you coming?" yelled Sheena. Zelos, Raine, and Linar were already in the car.

"Let's go," said Lloyd.

Ooooo

Raine pulled up in front of the school and everyone but she and Linar got out. "What does everyone say?"

"Thank you Linar!" chorused Lloyd, Colette, Sheena, and Zelos.

Raine pulled away. Zelos turned to Lloyd and Colette and said, "We'll see you later, Sheena and I have some unfinished business to take care of."

"Oh, okay then. I guess I'll see you all later," said Colette. She turned and started to walk away.

Lloyd felt Zelos's hand on his shoulder. "You should offer to drive her home," whispered Zelos.

"Huh?" said Lloyd.

Zelos rolled his eyes. "Just do it."

"Um, okay… Hey, Colette! Wait up!" Lloyd ran up to her. "Want me to drive you home?"

Colette smiled happily. "Sure! I'd love it!"

"Great!" Lloyd led her to his car.

Ooooo

Back in her room, Colette smiled happily and hugged one of her puppies, Magical Ribbon. "I had the greatest day ever so far!" she exclaimed happily. "Lloyd drove me home. I'm so happy!"

Colette's cell phone rang on her desk. Colette put Magical Ribbon down and checked it. "I've got a text message from Genis," she said to the puppy. She read it.

_Hi Colette_

_Okay if you come __over to my house? __There's something __I need to talk to __you about._

"I wonder what he wants." Colette said to the air, since Magical Ribbon had wandered off. She had a bad feeling, but pushed it aside. Grabbing her purse, she left for Genis's house.

Ooooo

MSS: Sorry it's so short. And it feels like a filler chapter to me. Sorry about that.

Colette: Master Summoner Sheena has a couple of announcements.

MSS: First of all, I've started to get into writing romance stories. So if anyone wants to request a pairing for me to write a one shot on, go ahead. The weirder the pairing, the better, since I want to try a pairing no one's written about yet.

Colette: Also, Master Summoner Sheena is SummonerSheena on Quizilla. It would be great if someone took some of her quizzes.

MSS: I have a new quiz I've started, and I hope to have it up before I go on vacation. Don't worry; I'll post the next chapter before then too.

Colette: That's it! Please review!


	6. Gesea!

MSS: I had a sudden urge to write the next chapter.

Chloe: How dare you write another chapter I'm not in!

MSS: (rolls eyes) Do you want me to remove you from the story completely?

Chloe: No.

MSS: Then don't complain. Anyways, this chapter has something I think a bunch of the readers have been looking forward to: Gesea becoming an official pairing.

Chloe: Wait… isn't Genis dating Colette?

MSS: But if Lloyd and Colette are going to get together…

Chloe: What about me?!

MSS: I'm sure you'll find someone stupid enough to date you… Do the disclaimer, please.

Chloe: Master Summoner Sheena doesn't own anything. Except for my awesomeness.

MSS: Oh, you mean Chloe Valens? Sorry, I don't own Tales of Legendia.

Chloe: Wait… did you name me after her?

MSS: Um, actually, no. I just started playing Tales of Legendia a couple months ago. After I finish it, I'm going to either beat Tales of the Abyss or Ar tonelico. I haven't decided yet.

Chloe: You think I care? Why don't you start the story before people get bored?

MSS: Fine. Meanie. By the way, I mean no offense to anyone in this chapter. Please, don't take what Chloe says literally and send me hate mail. Her opinions and mine are different. I'm one of those people at high school who tries to be friends with everyone, not just a specific group. So, please don't take it personally. Thanks.

Ooooo

Chapter 6: Breakups and Why Genis Hates His Roof

Colette walked up to Genis's front door and rang the bell. After a couple seconds it was answered by Virginia, Genis's mom. In her arms she was holding a baby. Colette remembered Virginia had originally planned on naming Genis 'Jean', only to find out he was a boy. When she had a third child, a girl, she had named her Jean.

"Hi Mrs. Sage! Hi baby Jean!" Colette exclaimed cheerfully, trying to ignore the sinking feeling she had had ever since she got Genis's text message.

"Oh, Colette, it's nice to see you. Did Genis invite you over?" Virginia asked.

"Yes!" Colette put on her biggest smile, "I'm so happy he did!"

"Well, don't let me get in the way. You two have fun, okay?" Virginia waved Colette in.

"Colette! There you are!" Genis ran down the stairs into the entrance hall. "Come on in here." He led her through a doorway on the left into the living room. Colette sat down on the blue-green couch. Genis ran through another doorway into the kitchen and returned with two glasses of lemonade. He set them on the coffee table in front of Colette and sat down next to her.

"Colette, listen… these past few weeks, we've been spending less and less time together. It's not that I mind, it's just, we barely even talk now. We really haven't even gone on any dates together," Genis tried to explain.

"You always said you didn't mind, as long as you got to spend time with me," Colette said quietly, feeling her worst fears get confirmed. _Why? Why now? I mean, I like Genis… right? But I also like Lloyd… but Genis asked me out, and I like him too! I always knew I had to decide… but… I… I can't…_

"I like you. I really do. But that's it. That's all I feel. Don't you think it's best we just…" Genis trailed off as Colette started crying. "Wait, Colette! I'm sorry, it's just not-"

Colette held out her to stop him from talking. "I… I don't want to hear it. I… I know you like Presea. It's fine. It's fine. I… hope you two… will be very… very… very happy…"

Colette couldn't take it anymore. Covering her face so hopefully no one would notice her tears, she rushed out of the house, leaving a stunned Genis behind.

Ooooo

Colette wasn't sure how she made it home. All she knew was that she was suddenly collapsing on her bed, and practically hugging to death her puppy Sissy. She was facing away from the door, and didn't move when she heard it open.

"Colette? Did you forget we were- what happened?!" Colette didn't answer Sheena. Sheena sat next to her bed and pulled her into a hug. "There, there, it's okay, tell me what's wrong and I'll beat up whoever hurt you."

Ooooo

Lloyd was lying on his bed doodling pictures of himself in 'cool' poses when his cell phone went off. He flipped it open and saw it was Sheena. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Lloyd! Get your butt over to Colette's house, now!" Sheena demanded on the other end.

"Huh? What do you mea-" abruptly Sheena hung up.

"I wonder what happened?" Lloyd asked himself as he threw down his sketch book and rushed to his car.

Ooooo

Lloyd was about to knock on the front door of Colette's house when Zelos wordlessly opened it. "Zelos, you're here too? What happened?"

Instead of answering, Zelos led Lloyd into Colette's family room. There Colette and Sheena were sitting on the couch, Colette sobbing on Sheena's shoulder. Lloyd sat down next to Colette, and she instantly started hugging him, now crying on his shoulder. Lloyd helplessly looked at Sheena and Zelos, unsure what to do. Zelos motioned for him to hug Colette back, which he did, still confused. _Will this really help? I don't know much about girls, but I know I wouldn't be caught dead crying on someone's shoulder._

"Will someone please tell me what's happening?" asked Lloyd.

"Genis broke up with Colette," said Sheena shortly.

"What?! Colette, I'm so sorry!" Lloyd hugged her tighter, finally understanding what was going on.

"We're going to leave you two alone, okay? Call me if you need either of us," Zelos whispered to Lloyd before he and Sheena left together.

"Lloyd…" Colette spoke so softly Lloyd could barely hear her.

"Is there something I can do to make you feel better?" Lloyd asked, anxious to help his friend.

"We-well, you re-remember those fish sticks you ga-gave me?" Colette stuttered.

"Yeah?" Lloyd waited for her to continue.

"There's still a couple left… could you please warm them up for me? They're in the fridge…" Colette whimpered.

"Okay… but will they really help you feel better?" Lloyd asked.

Colette sat up. Tears were still streaming down her face, but now she spoke me confidently. "Yes. They will." She watched as Lloyd walked into the kitchen. Even though she knew he couldn't hear her, she still said, "They'll make me feel better because they're from you."

Ooooo

It was already a week after Colette and Genis broke up. Rumors were flying all over the school. The only times people stopped gossiping was when an infuriated Sheena would yell at them to stop.

After being quiet for a couple of days, Colette had gone back to her usual, cheery self. Genis, on the other hand, had stopped hanging out with Lloyd's group after Sheena flipped out at him. He now hung out with Presea and Mithos. That fact had not gone unnoticed, and Chloe made sure to mention that as often as she could.

"…I mean really, this new girl shows up and then suddenly BAM! Genis is no longer dating Colette and is with this emo girl. I mean really, she never talks. I bet she writes depressing poetry and-"

"Chloe. You shouldn't say things like that if you don't even know the person you're talking about," Lloyd interrupted Chloe.

"But Lloydie," whined Chloe, "She wears black! I mean, look at her hair! If my hair was like that, I wouldn't ruin the look by wearing black-"

"Chloe, shut up. If all you're going to do is gossip, then go sit with your friends and do it, we don't want to hear it," Sheena had stood up and was glaring at Chloe.

Chloe shrugged disdainfully. "Whatever."

Lloyd knew he had to intervene quickly or face another fight between the two. "Hey Sheena, would you mind buying me an ice cream?" He held out two quarters.

"Fine," Sheena answered shortly, taking them.

"Ooh! Lloyd, get me one too!" squealed Chloe.

"Aren't you worried you'll get fat?" Sheena smirked as Chloe looked ready to explode.

"Okay, we're going now!" Lloyd hastily grabbed Sheena's hand and pulled her away.

When they were in the line for ice cream Sheena angrily turned on Lloyd and said, "What did you do that for?!"

"I just don't want you two to fight. Come on, can't you try to get along?" Lloyd asked.

"Tell that to her," Sheena muttered darkly, turning away from Lloyd.

As they neared the front of the lunch line, Lloyd realized Chloe hadn't given him any money for the ice cream. "Ummm… she can have mine."

Sheena rolled her eyes, but went along with it. By the time they were back at the table, Sheena had calmed down a little and simply ignored Chloe the rest of the lunch period.

Ooooo

The upcoming Saturday was an almost perfect day. The sky was completely clear, except for one small, dark cloud. A gentle breeze was blowing, and a certain pink-haired girl was walking up to Genis's house. Inside the kitchen, Mithos was trying to calm down a panicking Genis.

"What do I do? I'm too nervous, I can't say it!" Genis moaned.

Mithos sighed and put his arm around his friends shoulder. "You've already gotten this far by inviting her over. Come on, you might as well just ask her out."

"But what if she says no?" Genis squeaked. Mithos rolled his eyes. "Come on! This is completely different from when I asked Colette out!"

"How did you manage that anyways?" Mithos asked.

"We… well, one day she tripped and, um, she fell, and, well, she kinda, um, landed on me? Then, it just sort of slipped out…" Genis turned away, bright red.

Mithos burst into laughter. "Hey! It's not funny!" Genis yelled, only to be interrupted by the door bell ringing.

"All right, that's her. You can do it!" Mithos encouraged, before shoving Genis at the front door and running to wait in the kitchen so Presea wouldn't now he was there.

Genis gingerly opened the door and was faced with a curious Presea. "Hello Genis. So why did you invite me over?"

Genis felt himself starting to go red. Gathering his courage he said, "Um, you see, I… um…" _Her eyes are so pretty…No! Focus, Genis!_ "Well…" _It's so cute how she wears her hair… Augh!_ "Um, w-would you like t-to, um, sit down?"

"Sure Genis. Lead the way," Presea said.

Genis led her to the back patio, where he and Mithos had set up a table and two chairs. Genis sat across from Presea, nervously twiddling his thumbs.

Before Genis could say anything, violin music began to play in the background. Presea looked questioningly at Genis.

"Um, it's probably my sister. I'll ask her to turn it down." Genis ran into the kitchen.

"You asked her already? I knew some romantic music would work!" Mithos smirked.

"What do you think you're doing? Turn that off!" hissed Genis.

Mithos sighed. "All right, fine. But it always works in romance movies…" he trailed off at Genis's look. "What?"

"You watch **girl** movies?" Genis started to laugh.

"I- hey, wait! I do not! Stop it! I'm not a girl, I'm telling you! S-shut up! It… it was Yggdrasill! He's the one! He made me watch them! It's not like I chose the movie!" Mithos struggled to defend himself as Genis left the kitchen.

Presea looked at Genis questioningly as he sat back down. "Um, I took care of it," Genis awkwardly said.

"So…?" Presea hinted she wanted to know what was going on.

"Um… would y-you l-like…" _The way she sits is adorable…_ "Would…" _She looks even cuter when she's curious…_ "W-will…" _Come on Genis! Form a complete sentence!_ "Um, would you like t-to, um, have some lemonade?" _Stupid Genis! You just screwed up the perfect chance!_

"Oh, sure. Thank you Genis," Presea answered, looking even more curious.

Genis gratefully walked into the kitchen. Inside, Mithos gave him an expectant look. After seeing the look on Genis's face, he sighed and looked away.

"I can't do it," Genis looked gloomily at the refrigerator. He opened it and pulled out the container of lemonade.

"If only there were some way I could ask her for you- that's it!" Mithos shouted.

"What's it?" asked Genis.

"Do you still have them?" Mithos questioned.

"Them…? Oh! Yeah, I do!" Genis enthusiastically answered.

Ooooo

Genis exited the kitchen to the patio. Walking to Presea, he carefully placed one of the two glasses on the tray in front of her, before sitting down and grabbing the other.

Presea took a sip, then asked, "What took you so long?"

"Um… I was looking for our best glasses, because I want the best for you, but they were dusty, so I washed them," Genis hastily answered.

"Really? That's so sweet!" Presea smiled.

_Score! This'll be easy!_

Ooooo

Meanwhile, the real Genis carefully climbed to the edge of the roof to see what was going on._ I hope you know what you're doing, Mithos._

-Flashback-

_"Here they are!" Genis exclaimed, pulling a box labeled 'Halloween Costumes' from in his closet. After digging through for a minute, he pulled out a 'Genis costume'._

_"Good thing we went as each other last Halloween," Mithos said brightly. He pulled the costume on over his clothes and stuck on the wig. "How do I look?"_

_"Exactly like me!" Genis answered excitedly._

_"All right, here's the plan. I'll ask Presea out. You climb out your window onto the roof so you can hear our conversation, okay?" Mithos suggested._

_"All right!" Genis and Mithos high-fived._

-End Flashback-

_I can't hear a thing. When did it get so windy?_ Genis carefully slid down a little further, until he was at the edge of the roof. _I still can't hear… if I lean out just a little further-_

Genis felt a few of the shingles come loose underneath him….

Ooooo

"Presea, will you please go-" Mithos was cut off by a large blue and white object landing in a rosebush.

"What the…?" Presea got up and rushed to the bush. Inwardly groaning, Mithos hit himself in the forehead. _I can't believe I forgot how unathletic Genis is!_

"What?" asked Presea, looking from Mithos to Genis and back. "I didn't know you had a twin Genis."

"Um, I can explain…" Mithos began, but was interrupted by Genis.

"Presea… I'm sorry. I'm the real Genis. I… I really wanted to ask you, um, well…" Genis trailed off, turning red again.

Presea looked at Mithos. "Then who's that?"

"I'm Mithos," Mithos said, pulling off the wig.

"Um, Presea? W-would you please c-come with me t-to… um, the p-prom?" _I… I did it!_

"Of course. I've been waiting for you to ask for almost a week now," Presea said.

"Thank- wait, what?" Poor Genis was completely confused.

"It's pretty obvious that you liked me. And, well, you are really cute when you're embarrassed…" Presea blushed.

Without even thinking, Genis gave her a hug. The new couple abruptly pulled away from each other when Mithos started to whistle.

Ooooo

MSS: I think this is my favorite chapter. I had too much fun with poor Genis.

Chloe: What a wimp.

MSS: You know Presea's standing behind you, right?

Presea: You did not just call Genis a wimp.

Chloe: (flees)

MSS: Please review! Oh, and by the way, I don't hate Mithos. So please don't flame me!


	7. The Truth

MSS: Yup, I've finally decided to update!

Chloe: A lot of people are probably really impatient by now.

MSS: I know, I'm sorry. Now that I'm a junior, I'm incredibly busy. I barely get time to myself now. Anyways, I'm not trying to make fun of Mithos in this chapter; it's just that I can really picture him curled up on a couch clutching a box of tissues.

Chloe: XD Serves the brat right.

MSS: You shouldn't call him a brat…

Chloe: Whatever. Just start already!

MSS: Fine. Oh, btw, I've never seen "Love Is Never Having to Say You're Sorry," but from what I've heard it fits perfectly.

Ooooo

Chapter 7: The Truth

Lloyd sighed. He was sitting on a bench in the shade after school, lost in thought. Ever since that night with Colette, he wasn't sure what to do. He liked both Chloe and Colette. Sure, he hadn't known Chloe that long, but he was sure she had her good points.

_I don't know what to do. Dad always says to trust your instincts, but what do I do when they've abandoned me? I've been friends with Colette for forever. And Chloe… well… she can be mean, but once in a while I see her do something nice. And she did actually notice me…_

"Hey Lloyd. What are you doing?" Lloyd looked up to see Mithos standing in front of him. _Now that I think about it, I really don't know the guy. He only really hung with Genis, and now Genis doesn't come near us. I wonder if he's good with advice?_

"Oh… I was just lost in thought," Lloyd answered.

Mithos sat next to him. "What's wrong? Maybe I can help?"

Not sure he could trust Mithos, Lloyd changed the subject. "Where's Genis?"

"He had to stay after. Something about Professor Raine wanting him to help tutor a few students." Mithos shrugged. "Anyways, I have nothing to do this afternoon."

Lloyd grinned. "I don't either. Wanna find Zelos and see what he's up to?"

Mithos smiled happily. "Sure! I hear Zelos is always doing something fun!"

Lloyd shrugged. "That's if he lets us tag along."

"I have nothing to do anyway. Let's go!" Mithos shouted. The two walked off the school grounds to Zelos's house.

After about five minutes of walking, Mithos broke the silence. "So… what were you thinking about?"

_Do I trust him? It's now or never…_ "Well…" Lloyd began, "Say there's two girls I like. And I can't decide which to choose to go to the prom with. What would you do?"

Mithos nodded. "I know exactly where you can get some great advice!"

That got Lloyd's attention. "Where?" he asked eagerly.

Mithos grabbed his hand and dragged him down a side road. "Come on! My house isn't that far!"

Ooooo

Lloyd dumped his backpack next to the couch in Mithos's family room. The rug was a deep purple with black swirls. Lloyd plopped onto the couch which was white with gold trimmings, and continued trying to take in the room. The coffee table in front of him was deep brown, so deep it was almost black, and had a purple pattern around the edges.

Mithos grabbed a DVD and placed it in the DVD Player. He turned on the silver TV, which contrasted with the gold walls. The curtains were a pale green with white stripes. Over all, the room looked like someone had taken two different personalities and tried to combine them.

Mithos noticed Lloyd's staring and explained. "My brother and I came up with two different ideas of how we wanted this room to look, so we combined them. Cool, huh?"

Not sure what to say, Lloyd answered, "Yeah."

That was when the title screen appeared on the TV. It read: _Love Is Never Having To Say You're Sorry_.

"Uh…" Lloyd trailed off.

"This is one of the best movies out there! It gives great advice!" Mithos grinned. He passed Lloyd a tissue box. "Just in case."

Next thing Lloyd knew, he had shouted an excuse to leave and fled.

Mithos stared after Lloyd's retreating back. "Oh well, his loss." He pressed play and curled up on the couch with his box of tissues and a bag of popcorn.

Ooooo

Slowing down to a jog, Lloyd smashed into Zelos.

"Hey Lloyd!" Zelos paused. "Is something wrong?"

Lloyd took a deep breath before answering. "Remind me to never go to my Dad's boss's house ever again."

Zelos smirked. "Really now? If it freaked you out so much, maybe it's worth checking out."

Lloyd gaped at Zelos. "What?! Are you serious?"

Zelos nodded. "But first, we're gonna need some things. Let's head over to my house."

Lloyd followed Zelos, feeling doomed.

Ooooo

Zelos glanced around. "Everyone ready?"

Lloyd shifted nervously on Zelos's bed. Sitting on the left of him was Colette. On the right was Seles. Sheena was in the corner with her arms folded across her chest. Sitting cross-legged on the floor was Tabatha. Next to her was her best friend, Celsius.

"Why are we doing this again?" demanded Celsius.

"Come on, aren't you all curious?" Zelos gave Celsius a pleading look.

Tabatha spoke up. "Yes, but… Mithos is a friend of mine, so…"

Zelos turned to her. "Have you ever been over his house?"

"No…" Tabatha quietly answered.

"See? Almost no one knows what it's like. And those who do…" Zelos glanced over at Lloyd, "…refuse to say what happened. I feel that it is our duty to protect the student body by finding out what is so mind scarring, so we can warn others away. Then they won't suffer the fate of poor Lloyd over here."

Everyone held very still, amazed that Zelos could make a speech like that.

Then Seles burst into laughter. "What he means is he wants an excuse to break in so he can impress his hunnies."

"Seeeellleeeeeessss!" Zelos whined.

Celsius rolled her eyes. "Come on Tabatha, let's go."

Zelos quickly blocked the doorway. "Listen, all I want you two to do is take pictures! Is it that bad?"

"Hello? We're breaking into the home of the leader of Cruxis. Are you out of your mind?" demanded Celsius.

"Wait!" Zelos grabbed Celsius's arm. "What if…"

Ooooo

Kratos pulled over in front of a small mansion. He climbed out of the car and approached the door. He rang the bell.

"Found you, Kvar Desian…"

Ooooo

"All right," Celsius grudgingly agreed.

"Since that's settled, let's get going! Lead the way, Lloyd!" Zelos announced. The group of teens left Zelos's home, and headed for Mithos's house.

Ooooo

Kvar peeked out the window and saw Kratos. Quickly forming a plan in his mind, he grabbed his car keys and snuck out the back door.

"Hello, Kvar," came a cool voice from beside him.

Kvar turned to the left to find himself face to face with the leader of Cruxis, Lord Yggdrasill.

"What do you want?" Kvar asked suspiciously.

Yggdrasill smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "Oh, Kratos and I just want to have a nice long chat with you, isn't that right Kratos?"

Kratos appeared in the doorway behind Yggdrasill. "Yes, that is correct."

"How about you come with us to my home?" suggested Yggdrasill. He and Kratos each firmly grabbed one of Kvar's shoulders.

"I don't have much choice, do I?" Kvar responded. He was already forming a plan of escape.

Ooooo

The group of seven stopped in front of Mithos's house.

"This is it?" asked Zelos, shocked.

Mithos's house was, in actuality, a small castle. The group was currently hidden from sight by a row of small trees separating the house from the road. In front of them was a garden, forming a mini maze. Beyond that was a fountain, and then the entrance.

"So, Zelos," said Celsius, walking up to him, "How do plan to get in there? I doubt we could just walk right in."

Zelos gestured for them to get in a small circle. "My plan is for Tabatha to ring the doorbell, and say she's here to see Mithos. Talk to him for a couple minutes, then ask to use the bathroom. Find the security room and turn off the cameras. They tend to be near the entrance of a home, so check there first. Then you'll head to a front window and give us a thumbs up. Afterwards head back to Mithos and make sure he's distracted, okay?"

Tabatha nodded. "Got it."

"Her job is the hardest, because she has to make sure Mithos doesn't suspect anything. Anyways, after she gives us the signal, our two teams will move in. My team will infiltrate through that open window on the first floor, if all goes according to plan. If not, we'll try for the second floor," Zelos glanced at Sheena and Celsius as he said this.

"Got it," they answered.

"Lloyd, you'll take your group in through the back. There should be a door somewhere. Once each group is in, we'll look around. Lloyd, your group will cover the first floor. Mine will cover the second. When you're done, send me a text and we'll meet up in the tower in the center, top floor. Got it?" Zelos asked everyone.

"Yup!" answered Colette.

"Uh-huh," replied Seles.

"I guess," said Lloyd.

"Remember, if you find something interesting, take a picture! Also, set your cell phones to silent please," Zelos reminded.

Everyone got up. "All right! Let's commence Operation: Investigate Mithos's Castle," Zelos announced grandly. Tabatha nervously walked off.

Ooooo

The doorbell echoed through the castle. Tabatha nervously looked around. _How will I explain knowing where he lives? Oh, I hope he doesn't ask…_

Mithos answered the door. "Oh, hey Tabatha! Come on in!"

Tabatha felt inwardly guilty. _But I promised… I hope nothing bad comes of this…_

Ooooo

"She's in! Now we just have to wait for the signal!" Zelos whispered.

Ooooo

"Hey, Chloe?" asked Chocolat from her bed where she was doing her nails.

"Huh?" Chloe looked up from the magazine she was reading.

"I know you're in a bunch of magazines, and reporters are all vying to get an interview with you, but don't you feel bad?" Chocolat studied a nail carefully before gently blowing on it.

"Why should I?" asked Chloe, flipping the page to see a picture of herself. She beamed.

"Well… you ARE using Lloyd," Chocolat answered quietly.

"I'm just trying my best to secure a future of fame and popularity for myself. What's wrong with that?" Chloe flipped to the next page and scowled at the article's shortness.

"I just… don't think it's fair to Lloyd…" Chocolat trailed off.

Chloe put down her magazine. "All's fair in love and war. How about we go shopping to cheer you up?"

Chocolat got up. "Sure!"

Ooooo

Tabatha nervously shut off the security. Rushing to the front window, she gave a thumbs up.

"Tabatha?" Mithos voice came from the hallway.

"I'm right here!" she answered, rushing out.

"What were you doing?" asked Mithos curiously.

"Um, I just smelled something really good, and wanted to see what it was," Tabatha hastily lied, feeling bad.

Mithos sniffed the air. "Oh! It smells like our cook has baked cookies! Let's grab some while they're hot!"

Tabatha allowed herself to be dragged to the kitchen. _Maybe a cookie will help me feel better…_

Ooooo

"There's the signal. Let's go!" said Zelos.

Lloyd, Seles, and Colette peeled off from the group and snuck around back.

Seles spotted the door. "There it is!" She rushed over and tried to open it. "Great. It's locked."

"I'll handle it," said Lloyd. He carefully picked the lock and opened the door.

"Wow Lloyd! That was incredible!" exclaimed Colette.

Seles smirked. "At least he's good for something."

Lloyd glared at Seles for a moment, before the three of them burst into laughter.

Ooooo

Zelos, Sheena, and Celsius climbed to the top of the stairs and entered the nearest room. The walls were sea foam green, with gold and white sponge imprints. The floor was made of bamboo, and had a gold rug on the side of the bed in the center. The sheet on the bed was white with a gold border. The pillowcases matched the walls. The dresser was white, and the curtains gold.

"Um, wow," said Sheena, looking around.

"Notice how most of the castle has a color scheme of either green, white, and gold or black, silver, and purple?" said Celsius, snapping a picture.

"Who cares?" answered Zelos, digging through a bamboo desk.

"Zelos! You shouldn't dig through places like that!" warned Sheena.

Zelos sighed. "All right, fine. Let's move on."

The trio crept down the hall into another room. It was a library. The wood floor was dark, and purple rugs were everywhere. The desk at the entrance had silver inlay.

"See? I told you so." Celsius snapped another picture.

Ooooo

Yggdrasill and Kratos led Kvar up to the entrance to Mithos's castle.

"We'll talk things over in my office," said Yggdrasill.

Ooooo

Lloyd, Colette, and Seles entered a room. In the center was a huge white desk inlaid with gold and small green gems. Underneath it was a white circular rug with gold fringe. There were three windows opposite the door, with green curtains. The walls were white. In the left corner of the room was a small door.

Seles went to investigate the door while Colette took a picture. "Isn't it weird how these rooms are all the same colors?" she asked.

"I know-" Lloyd was cut off by Colette, who had hastily hushed him. They heard voices coming from down the hall.

"Quick guys! In here!" Seles motioned for everyone to come to the door. Lloyd and Colette scrambled into what was a very messy closet. Seles pulled the door shut just in time to hear the other door open.

Ooooo

Yggdrasill sat down at his desk. Kvar was forced down in a chair, and Kratos leaned against the wall by the door, in case Kvar tried to escape.

"Kvar Desian," began Yggdrasill, "I trust you realize why you were summoned here?"

Ooooo

"Kvar Desian?! That's the guy who-" Lloyd began.

"Shh!" said Seles.

Ooooo

"And why would that be?" asked Kvar, feigning innocence.

Yggdrasill stood up. "Perhaps this will remind you. Kratos!"

Kratos walked over and placed a pile of pictures in front of Kvar. On top was the one of Lloyd and Chloe in Lloyd's room.

"Oh, those. What about them?" asked Kvar, growing nervous though he kept his voice calm.

"We could arrest you right now for trespassing. However, if you agree to our deal, you'll be cleared of all charges. Do we have an understanding?" asked Yggdrasill, his voice carefully controlled so he didn't display a hint of anger. _But we need this information… I can always find a reason to arrest this scum some other time._

Kvar smirked slyly. "And if I don't?"

Kratos rested his hand on his sword. "I think you understand what will happen."

Kvar looked between the two and sighed, defeated. "What do you want?"

Yggdrasill sat back down. "First of all, how did you take this picture?" He gestured to the one on top.

Kvar smirked. "Trade secret."

Kratos sighed, covering his eyes with one hand.

Yggdrasill controlled his anger and said, "Very well. We'll return to that question later." He leaned forward. "Who hired you?"

A look of shock covered Kvar's face before it was hidden. "I don't know what you mean," he answered casually.

Yggdrasill smirked. "Oh, I believe you do."

Ooooo

Zelos was examining a design on the wall in the library. _Weird… it looks kinda like you could open it… I wonder…_

Zelos pushed on the design and it opened, revealing a button. "Hey guys! Look what I found!"

Sheena and Celsius ran over.

"What does that do?" wondered Sheena.

"Only one way to find out," answered Zelos. He pushed the button.

The bookcase next to them abruptly pulled out and slid to the side, revealing a small spiral staircase.

"No way!" exclaimed Celsius, "Who would have thought this was here?"

Sheena was already at the first turn. "Well? Are you guys coming or not?"

Zelos and Celsius hurriedly followed. The three crept down carefully. The stairs were covered in cobwebs, and obviously hadn't been used in a while.

"Things will go a lot easier if you just come clean Kvar."

They froze. The three glanced at each other, then Zelos hesitantly crept around the corner. He saw a small circle of light. Feeling Sheena brush by his arm, he hastily moved towards the light, being careful to stay silent. Sheena was now at his side, and he could feel Celsius's breath on his back.

They reached the light. The group could now clearly see the scene before them, and catch every single word being said in the office.

Ooooo

"I suppose I won't gain anything for hiding it any longer." Kvar paused meaningfully.

"Good," Yggdrasill smiled. _About time._

"It all started when I got that exclusive photo of Lloyd and Chloe on their first date. Pretty pathetic how it ended. When Chloe learned I took the photo, she was impressed no one had noticed me. So she hired me to get exclusive photos of her." Kvar smirked. "Some people will do anything for popularity, huh? Still, the pay was very good, and I obviously wasn't going to refuse."

Yggdrasill glanced over at Kratos. He could tell his friend and employee was inwardly seething. _Let's wrap this up now._

Yggdrasill stood. "Well, Now that that is over with, I hereby place you under arrest."

"W-what?!" Kvar demanded, shocked, "I thought you promised-"

"Yes, I did. You have been cleared of all charges concerning Lloyd. However, you seem to be forgetting the Cruxis incident from before, of which you are still at large," Yggdrasill reminded Kvar.

Kvar glared at Yggdrasill as two angels entered the room. "You'll pay for this. No one defeats Kvar Desian!"

Yggdrasill sighed. "I grow weary of your presence." He turned to the angels. "Please remove him."

Ooooo

Still in the closet, Lloyd was in shock. _No… Chloe wouldn't… she… she was just…using me?_

Seles looked sadly at Lloyd and exchanged a glance with Colette. Colette nodded.

"Lloyd?" Seles placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm gonna text Zelos and let him know we're heading to the meeting point, okay?"

Lloyd didn't respond. Colette mouthed, "I'll take care of him."

Seles nodded and sent Zelos the text.

Ooooo

MSS: Wow!

Chloe: Uh-oh…

MSS: Lloyd's friends aren't going to be too happy with you…

Chloe: Um, that's okay. I was planning a trip to Altamira anyways…

MSS: I'd start running.

Chloe: Huh?

MSS: When the fangirls find out what you did, they'll be after you.

Chloe: (flees)

MSS: Review please? How am I at writing suspense? And do you think I should have some cameos of other tales games, or just stick with Symphonia?


	8. Lloyd's Choice

MSS: Sorry I haven't updated for awhile. Anyways, while this story is almost over, I'm thinking about making a sequel. What do you think? I've made a poll in my profile, so please vote!

Chloe: I'll be in the sequel, right?

MSS: Uh...

Sheena: Master Summoner Sheena doesn't own anything. Except Chloe.

Chloe: Hey! She hasn't answered my question yet!

Sheena: We hope you enjoy the chapter.

Ooooo

Chapter 8: Lloyd's Choice

_Prom is tomorrow. Can I really do this?_ Lloyd was sitting on a bench outside school, which had just ended. He sighed and glanced around, spotting Genis. "Hey! Genis!"

Genis turned and saw Lloyd. He hurriedly started to run off.

Lloyd easily caught up and grabbed Genis's shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Genis stopped and looked down. "Well... you guys are mad at me... since... I..."

Lloyd shook his head. "Mad? Okay, I'll admit at first, yes, but we aren't mad at you."

Genis looked up in surprise. "Really? But I thought..."

Lloyd grabbed Genis's hand. "Come on, let's all head to the Palmacosta Pizza Place. I'll call everyone and tell them to come. Then will you believe they're not mad at you?"

Genis looked nervous. "But what about Colette?"

Lloyd shook his head. "Have you ever known her to hold a grudge?"

"Yeah... you're right." Genis smiled a bit.

"Then let's go!" Lloyd shouted.

Ooooo

Lloyd and Genis claimed a table. As Lloyd pulled out his cell phone, Genis asked, "Hey Lloyd? Can you invite Presea and Mithos too?"

Lloyd grinned. "Of course! The more the merrier!"

"All right! I'll go order the pizza!" Genis said cheerfully.

Lloyd smiled, glad to have cheered up his friend.

Ooooo

"Palmacosta Pizza Place? Sure, Seles and I will be there. Don't forget to invite Seles and Celsius too," Zelos said.

"I was planning on inviting them," Lloyd answered.

"'k then. See you there bud!" Zelos hung up hearing Lloyd's groan on the other end. "Hey, Seles!"

Seles appeared in his doorway. "What is it?"

"Ouch. You don't have to be so cold, my darling little sister," Zelos winced.

Seles rolled her eyes. "Just tell me what you want already."

Zelos got up. "We're all meeting at the Palmacosta Pizza Place. You gonna come?"

Seles thought for a moment. "Sure. I don't have anything else to do."

Ooooo

Everyone was gathered, taking up half the pizza place. Genis glanced around, feeling the happiest he had felt since he broke up with Colette. He was happy to be going out with Presea, but still, nothing was better than being with his friends- all of them.

"So bud," Zelos put an arm over Lloyd's shoulder. Lloyd shrugged him off. Zelos refused to let this stop him. "Anyways, I've been doing some thinking. How about we break into Pronyma's house?"

Genis jumped. "Just what have I been missing?" he asked suspiciously.

Sheena rolled her eyes. "Zelos has taken to breaking into people's homes to show off."

Genis also rolled his eyes. "Just don't get arrested." He turned to Mithos, only to find...

"Can I join you?" Mithos looked excited. Genis face palmed and grabbed a slice of pizza.

Zelos puffed up with self-importance. "Why yes, young man."

Sheena sighed. "Great. Now he won't stop until we all agree to join him."

"Okay, first we need someone to become really close to Pronyma. Someone to become her prized student. Then-"

Sheena elbowed Zelos. "All right, that's enough of that. How about we actually eat?"

"Aww, come on Sheena," whined Zelos. Sheena smirked and pulled out a permanent marker.

Zelos hastily backed away. "Not right before prom! Okay, okay, I'll stop!"

Sheena put away the marker and settled down next to a jumpy Zelos. Mithos turned to Lloyd. "Does she always carry that around?"

Lloyd nodded. "It's pretty funny, actually."

"I have pictures from when he came home like that," announced Seles. Zelos instantly threw a fit.

"Um, Mithos?" He turned to see Tabatha standing shyly next to him. "I brought you a slice of pizza with olives on it. I know that's your favorite."

Mithos smiled. "Thanks, Tabatha." They sat down together.

Zelos smirked. "When did you two become a couple, hmm?"

Mithos glared at Zelos and wrapped an arm protectively around Tabatha, who blushed.

Genis glanced around at all his friends. _Yes, this is the way things are supposed to be._ He watched as Colette and Celsius debated over flowers ("Snowdrops are better than carnations," Celsius nodded knowingly). He eavesdropped on Zelos and Lloyd's rather loud argument over whether or not two swords were better than one. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Presea smiling. She sat down next to him. _I hope things stay like this for awhile._

Ooooo

"There you are! I've been looking for you for like, forever!" Chloe glared at Lloyd. "Why didn't you walk with me to school?"

Lloyd glanced around. _There's no way out of this. I have to tell her the truth. I have to tell her I don't want to go to the prom with her._

"Chloe, I..." Lloyd trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Come on! We're going to my locker!" Chloe turned and started to leave. Lloyd didn't move. "Why aren't you coming?!"

_I've never really seen this side of her. Is this what she's really like?_ Lloyd faced Chloe. "I'm not going with you."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "My locker's just down the hall. You won't be late."

"That's not what I'm talking about." _It's now or never._ "I'm not going to the prom with you."

"Listen, I- WHAT?!" Chloe looked shocked, then angry.

_I have to stay firm._ "I remember you said we'd go only if I really liked you. I'm sorry, but I just don't feel that way. So I'm not going."

Chloe narrowed her eyes. "It was Colette, wasn't it? That little bi-"

Sheena punched Chloe in the face. "Don't you dare say anything bad about Colette."

"Sheena?" Lloyd was surprised.

"I couldn't help but overhear you. So I decided to help." Sheena crossed her arms across her chest and glared at Chloe.

Chloe glared back as Zelos and Colette approached. "The prom is tonight! How am I supposed to get a date by then?!"

Zelos shrugged. "I'm sure you can bribe someone to go with you."

"You!" Chloe made a frustrated noise, then whirled around and stalked off. Before turning the corner, she said, "This isn't over. I will get revenge."

Lloyd glanced at his friends. "Guys..."

Zelos put his hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "Come on, how could we not help our friend?"

"Don't you have something to ask Colette?" Sheena whispered in Lloyd's ear.

_That's right! How did she know?_ Lloyd walked up to Colette as Sheena and Zelos backed off.

Colette looked up at Lloyd. "Lloyd... I'm sorry about what happened. I feel like it's all my fault."

Lloyd shook his head. "It's not. But um, did you ever find someone to go with you tonight?"

"No..." said Colette.

Lloyd put his arm on her shoulder. "Then, do you want to go with me?"

Colette looked up, happiness shining in her eyes. "Really?" Lloyd nodded. "Yes!"

Lloyd pulled Colette into a gentle hug. The new couple was completely oblivious to the stares and catcalls they got from the crowd watching.

Ooooo

"Mom! Dad! I'm going to go pick up Colette now!" Lloyd yelled from the door.

Anna came over to Lloyd, tears in her eyes. "Honey, I'm so proud of you." She hugged Lloyd. "I want you two to have a great night."

Kratos gave Lloyd a curt nod along with a small smile. "Good luck."

Lloyd pulled out his keys and headed to his car.

Ooooo

Colette glanced around her room. _Lloyd will be here any minute. This is what I've always dreamed of. I'm so happy!_ Colette picked up a group picture taken of her, Lloyd, Sheena, Zelos, and Genis last summer. _I never did tell you, did I? The reason I didn't find someone else to go with was because I wanted to go with you..._

Ooooo

Lloyd picked up a bouquet of pink and yellow carnations, almost identical to the one Colette had pointed out. He brought it to Luna.

Luna smirked. "It's nice to see you again. That will be two thousand gald."

Lloyd shook his head. "No, five hundred gald."

Luna looked surprised. "What?"

"The price tag says five hundred gald." Lloyd held it up to her.

Luna sighed. "Fine. Five hundred gald it is."

Lloyd paid and got in his car. _I'll have to thank Dad for reminding me there's a price tag._

He pulled up at Colette's house and nervously rang the doorbell. He heard from inside, "It's Lloyd! Bye Father!" followed by a crash and the sound of breaking glass.

Colette opened the door, her dress miraculously in one piece. "Hi Lloyd!"

Lloyd glanced behind Colette at what was left of a small wooden table and glass vase. "Um, are you okay...?"

Colette smiled happily. "Yup! I'm fine. Father was planning on fixing that table anyways."

"I see..." There really wasn't much left to fix.

Colette beamed. "So, are you ready to go?"

Lloyd decided to forget the table and smiled. "Yeah! Oh, and I got you these." Lloyd handed her the bouquet.

"Wow! Thank you, these are my favorite! How did you know?" Colette took the bouquet and stepped out the door.

Lloyd shook his head. "You dork, you told me that yourself."

Colette laughed sheepishly. "Oh yeah, I did." She walked to Lloyd's car.

Lloyd gently turned her towards him. _This is it..._ He bent down and kissed her.

Colette melted against Lloyd and held him tightly, closing her eyes. Before they were shut, Lloyd noticed the dazzling shade of blue they were. All at once, he realized who the girl he dreamed about was. _I can't believe myself... all this time, she was right next to me! Why did I waste all that time with Chloe? All this time, the girl I really wanted was Colette..._

Lloyd and Colette broke apart. Lloyd helped her into his car before running over to his side. Together they drove off to the prom.

Ooooo

MSS: Well, this is it. The next chapter is the last one. But don't worry! Like I said, I'm planning on making a sequel. So don't forget to vote in my profile which story you want next. Thanks so much for reading, and sticking with this story so long. I'll try to make the next chapter the best one of them all!


	9. Epilogue

MSS: Well, this is it!

Chloe: ...

MSS: Yeah... she's been like that for a while now.

Chloe: ...

MSS: I only own Chloe.

Chloe: ...

MSS: (sighs) You're making this really depressing, you know that?

Chloe: ...As if you care.

MSS: Come on, cheer up! Aren't you excited for Prom?

Chloe: You're kidding me, right? I don't even have someone to go with.

MSS: Well, like I said before, I'm sure you'll find someone...

Chloe: I guess you have a point... That's it! (runs off)

MSS: All I can really say is read on. Oh yeah, and I added in some cameos from others Tales games. See how many you can recognize!

Ooooo

Lloyd and Colette walked into the Palmacosta Convention Center, where the Prom was being held. Glancing about, Lloyd spotted Sheena and Zelos in the crowd waiting to go in. He and Colette hurried to join them.

"Hey, you two," said Zelos. He was clearly having the time of his life. After a moment, it became clear why.

"Zeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllllllllloooooooooooooooossssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!" squealed a pink and white blur as a girl with dark brown hair threw herself at Zelos. Sheena sighed and rolled her eyes as Zelos pried her off of him.

"Now, now," Zelos smiled down at her, "I do have a date you know."

The girl smiled. "I know, but I had to do it." A guy with long green hair rushed over. "Well, see you later!" The girl waved as she and her date left.

"Um...." Lloyd had no clue what to say.

Sheena rolled her eyes. "This has been happening the entire time," she said in an annoyed voice.

Zelos laughed and placed his arm around her waist. "Well, what can I say? The Hunnies love me!"

Sheena started to snap back at him, but was interrupted by the arrival of Genis, Presea, Mithos, and Tabatha.

"Hey guys," said Genis. He glanced between the four before asking, "Um, did we come at a bad time?"

Lloyd shook his head. "No, you couldn't have picked a better time to show up."

Colette spoke up. "Where's the Professor? I thought she was a chaperone."

Genis shrugged. "I honestly have no clue. She said she and Linar were going to patrol... but there's really nowhere to patrol right now, since they haven't even let us in yet..."

Zelos opened his mouth to comment, only for Sheena to elbow him in the side. As he started to whine, the doors opened and everyone headed in.

Ooooo

Mithos glanced around the dessert buffet before settling on a slice of chocolate cake. Smiling to himself, he headed back to his table, unaware he was being watched.

As he sat back down, Tabatha got up. "I'll be right back, okay?" she said, grabbing her purse. Mithos nodded, and took a bite out of his cake while Tabatha walked off.

Almost instantly Tabatha's seat was taken by Chloe. Mithos ignored her as she began to scoot her chair closer. "Hello, Mithos. I don't think you know me, but I know you. You're a pretty decent guy," Chloe smiled sweetly and added as an undertone, "And the younger brother of the leader of Cruxis..."

Mithos uncomfortably scooted his chair away. Chloe scooted closer. "Has anyone ever told you how cute you are?"

Mithos couldn't take it any longer. Standing up, he glared at Chloe. "Why don't you just leave all of us alone? I doubt anyone in the entire school will go out with you!"

Chloe smirked. "I see, it's because of your little girlfriend, isn't it? Well, what if she-"

Mithos slapped Chloe.

All eyes turned in their direction as Mithos shook with fury. "Don't you EVER say anything bad about Tabatha! You hear me?!"

Chloe stared in shock. "He's so overprotective..." she muttered.

Mithos narrowed his eyes. "If you even look at her, I'll send all of Cruxis after you!" He turned and stalked off. As he slowly calmed down, he realized with chagrin he had left his cake half-finished at the table. _Tabatha's tastes better anyways._

Chloe stared after him in shock. Noticing the people staring, she tossed her hair and pulled a list from her purse. She crossed off Mithos from it and homed in on the next name: Leon.

Ooooo

Zelos hastily smothered his laughter from where he had watched the scene. Chloe had spent the entire time at prom attempting to convince guy after guy to abandon his date for her. Turning back to his friends, Zelos couldn't help but smirk to himself. His plan had worked out perfectly. He had finally managed to get Lloyd a girlfriend, and as a bonus humiliated Chloe. _Suppose I do feel a bit bad for her... Aw man, Lloyd's rubbing off on me. Still, she deserved what she got. That's what you get when you mess with the great Zelos Wilder!_ Zelos laughed at a joke Celsius made and continued his inner monologue. _So she ended up going with Efreet after all... so much for hating him. I love the way her dress is cut... but I bet it would look better on Sheena. Colette and Presea are cute of course, and-_

"Zelos? Are you even listening to me?"

Zelos snapped out of the direction his thoughts had taken and grinned. "Of course I am, bud. What did you say again?"

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "I said, why do you look so smug?"

_I suppose I should give some credit to Chocolat. She did tip me off about Chloe's real reason for dating Lloyd..._ "Bud, you'll understand when you're older."

Lloyd blushed slightly before frowning at Zelos. "It's thoughts like those that make Sheena hit you all the time..."

Smoothly changing the subject, Zelos asked, "So, what are you planning on doing this summer anyways? You see, I own this summer home near Altamira and..."

Zelos continued describing his plans for a summer adventure involving sneaking into the Lezareno Company Headquarters as Lloyd sighed and said, "Here we go again..."

Ooooo

MSS: My New Year's resolution: Finish all my stories before I head off to college in the fall! Of course, I'll start new ones, but I want to finish my unfinished ones first. But I should have the first chapter of the sequel up by next week, so keep an eye out for it!

Zelos: And now for a preview of the next great adventure of Zelos and his hunnies!

Lloyd: I give up...

Ooooo

Lloyd ducked into an alley and hid behind a box. He waited for the sound of running feet to fade before he relaxed. _Just who are these Renegade guys anyways? And why are they chasing after me?_ He quietly got up and went to the entrance of the alley. After making sure the coast was clear, he blended into the crowd and headed for Zelos's beach house.

Two purple eyes watched him from the fifth floor of the resort before vanishing behind a curtain.

Ooooo

MSS: But of course it will still contain romance!

Ooooo

Lloyd hugged Colette as an apology. "You dork, don't worry about that. It's not your fault. You don't have to blame yourself for anything Chloe does, okay?"

"But..." Colette protested.

Lloyd smiled gently at her and cut off her excuses with a kiss.

Ooooo

MSS: So look forward to it!


End file.
